Infinite Paths of Destiny
by Nostalgicmiss
Summary: What if Edward never Returned from Denali? Would Bella's destiny change, or are their destinies interlaced? Will love overcome all? A/U
1. Preface Twisted Tale

_**All Things Twilight belong to the awesome Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Preface - Twisted Tale.**

As I stood on the precipice of the building, I felt the wind rustle through my hair. It was long and brown, the way it had been the day I had died. It was a strange feeling knowing you're dead, your heart no longer beats, bacteria cannot penetrate your defenses and your skin is cold, pale and hard.

This was who I was now, Isabella Marie Swan, the undead, the vampire. To all of my human connections I was dead, carried away by one of the various beasts living in the forests surrounding Forks, Washington. The people who had taken me left a staged scene, one that looked like I had been mauled and eaten.

I knew my father, Charlie, must have been devastated, I had been in his custody for less than 3 months and as far as he knew, I was dead. It seemed so unfair that I barely got to know him, he was my father and I loved him, but the time we had spent together was few and far between until I had moved to Forks.

It was early January when I had made the decision to move to Forks, Washington. I lived with my mother Renee in Phoenix, Arizona. She had just gotten remarried to a guy called Phil, an amateur baseball player who moved around constantly looking for a team that could take him to where he wanted to go. My mom would pine for him on his long trips away from us and I continued to feel more guilty at keeping her away from him, guilt was something that came easily to me and I could never have pushed it aside, so I made the sacrifice and decided to move in with my dad, Charlie, in Forks. Forks was in the Olympic range and was perhaps the rainiest part of the country. A fair contrast to the dry heat of Phoenix, Arizona. I arrived on a wet day, it was inescapable here so it didn't bother me so much. I had been surprised by the welcoming gift my father had given me, a red 1956 Chevy truck. It was perfect. I didn't have a lot of time to play with it because I was starting school the next day.

My first day at Forks high was eventful to say the least. There was a large curiosity about me, Forks was a small town and someone new seemed to be a big deal. Everyone was watching me and it made me uncomfortable, for me, being in the spotlight was always difficult, I was the clumsiest person alive, tripping over my own two feet at every opportunity.

I was lucky though, the people had seemed very friendly, eager to get to know someone new. I made friends fast that first week and they were with me until my human life was over. They had been so warm and accepting that I easily fell into a routine with them.

There was one exception to this. A mysterious boy named Edward Cullen. I had asked Jessica about him that first day at lunch, he and his family kept to themselves, they stayed away from the general populace of the school. Jessica was quick to tell me about their scandalous behavior. There were five Cullen children, but there were a set of twins that went by the name Hale. They were adopted by Doctor Cullen and his wife, and they were coupled up, all except Edward.

Edward was the most beautiful person I had ever seen, his tousled bronze hair fell into his gorgeous pale face, he had the most defined features and he captivated me. I couldn't look away. His eyes were dark, almost black, but they were beautiful. The moment I saw him I wanted to know everything about him.

Jessica caught on quickly when I began asking questions, and she informed me that he didn't date. The thought had never really crossed my mind, in my seventeen years of life I had never dated, no guys really looked at me like that, in fact, no guys had looked at me at all. Still, all I could think about during lunch that day was how I wanted to talk to him, to touch his beautifully pale skin.

Things didn't quite work out that way though, my next class had been biology, and sat next to me was none other than Edward Cullen himself. When I saw the only open seat in the class was next to him, I became a little excited, my heart was pumping and my stomach was somersaulting in anticipation, this would be my chance to talk to him. As I arrived at the table, my emotions rotated to fear and curiosity. Edward Cullen was glaring at me. His black eyes were boring holes into me, they were practically murderous. I was scared and intrigued, was he always like this?

The entire class had been spent with him throwing his glacial stares at me, he leaned away from me gripping onto the desk for dear life, he occasionally glared at me from the corner of his eyes.

I hid my face with my hair and never looked at him once, but I could feel his eyes, I could feel his presence, he was like a force of nature drawing me to him, I remember feeling so confused. How could I be so drawn to someone who clearly hated me, I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me, I felt lost.

As soon as the bell rang he was gone, he exited the class as though the black plague had been sat next to him. It was an odd feeling having offended someone and not know how. Mike had commented on his behavior after class, so I knew it had been me, and no one else.

I ran into Edward once again in the administrative offices after school that day, but his behavior had been just as odd. He bolted from the room, never looking back.

That was the last time I ever saw Edward Cullen, but it certainly wasn't the last time I thought about him.

Something about Edward Cullen had captivated me, his face haunted my dreams. For two weeks after that first day I looked to his family's table, hoping that he would return, but he never did.

Soon, life fell into a normal pattern, I spent time with Jessica and Angela outside of school and Mike continued to insist that I let him take me out. Everything was very normal. We saw a little snow fall at the end of January, but I made sure to keep away from it at all costs, I would park closer to the school so I didn't have to walk too far on the ice, as clumsy as I was, I didn't need any help falling over. The snow lasted two days before disappearing entirely. The student body complained, but I saw it as the first piece of luck that had shined on me since my arrival.

As spring approached, the weather would sporadically grace us with sun, the Cullens used this as an opportunity to go backpacking and would miss school, Jessica had told me this was perfectly normal, it had been that way for the two years they had attended Forks High. They had been here for two years and in one day I had successfully chased away their brother, he was still a constant thought of mine, but I kept that to myself.

Mike, being the socialite he was had organized a weekend at the beach for us all, he had waited for the weather to brighten, the fist weekend in March was the first to oblige.

We had met up at Mike's parents store and headed to First Beach in his suburban, it wasn't warm but the sun gave me extra spring in my step, and it was evident to my companions at the time. They would talk animatedly to me, and I would happily respond, the sun brought out a happiness in me.

First Beach was where I met Jacob, I had been forced onto him and his sisters during my summers in Forks when I would visit Charlie, he and Jacob's father, Billy, were good friends, so he would take me there while he would fish with Billy.

Jacob and I hit it off immediately. He was younger than me in years alone, I spent a majority of my time with him that day, the conversation flowed easily and I felt comfortable with him. No one else really seemed to matter, it was as though we were the only two there.

Before I left, I had promised to visit him again. I enjoyed his company and he seemed as comfortable as I was. His jovial nature was infectious to me, for the first time I found myself thinking about something other that Edward Cullen, I felt liberated.

After that first meeting at the beach, I was only able to spend a week in Jacob's company, because the next Saturday, was the day I lost my life.

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**A/N: Okay, so this is a what if story, I'm sure you've guessed that much lol. I have rated it M just in case, I don't know where this will go, I'm winging it. I have the basis for the story and I'm letting it go where it needs to. I will continue with this when I have finished with Dark side of light, I just thought I would get some feedback for what I have so far. I just wanted to post a preface so you can get what happened to her, the rest will be revealed in Chapter one.**


	2. Chapter 1 The Day I Died

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer . . . 32 days till Breaking Dawn!**_

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**Chapter 1 - The Day I Died.**

The building I was standing atop of at this point, signified just how much I had changed in the year since my death. I was in New York City, the ledge was a mere two foot wide, but a whopping 30 stories up and I strode along it as though nothing could hurt me, in reality, nothing could.

The people I was traveling with had broken into one of the upscale apartments that filled this large building. The architecture was phenomenal, they often went for lower scale buildings, they didn't want to get caught, but with our gifts and senses, no one could ever get close enough. They took a chance this time and it paid off. It seemed that the wealthy owner of this lavish home spent the winters in the south, the furniture had protective covering on them, and after a week of being on edge, the maids hadn't come.

This had been my favorite spot so far, I liked the freedom of the open air, the cool breeze that danced across my skin and gently pushed my hair from my shoulders. The traffic below looked like small matchbox cars in some twisted child's game, packed closely together. The traffic in this city was worse than I had seen it anywhere else, the subways came in handy for us, especially when the sun would make an appearance through the tall buildings.

I was making the most of the view, we were leaving today, heading back to Forks for the first time since I had been changed. It wasn't something I was looking forward to, but we had business to attend to, someone had been hunting us, we had to go back to the source and take care of the problem. My coven didn't really discuss to much in front of me, they were still weary of my presence and my strange habits had them questioning my loyalty. I particularly like them, but it was all I had known since my transformation.

Forks would bring back so many memories, but the most predominant would be that of my change, the most painful days of my existence.

It had been a week since my trip to First Beach, Jacob and I had spent so much time together in such a short span of time. Our friendship had blossomed quickly, and Charlie couldn't have been happier about it. He never missed an opportunity to tell me that either.

I was waiting for Jacob to come over, he often borrowed a car from a friend down at the reservation and would drive the fifteen miles to come and see me. Charlie wasn't happy about him breaking the law, Jacob wasn't quite sixteen yet so he didn't have his license, but he could drive better than some of the people around the town. He hated when I offered to come and pick him up, he said it made him feel too young, like I was his babysitter rather than his friend.

I was bored waiting for him so I had decided that I would bide my time and go for a walk in the forest behind our house. i scribbled a quick note for Jacob so he would know where to find me, and headed out. It seemed to have a defined path so I thought I couldn't get up to too much trouble. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I had only been walking for forty-five minutes, but the day was growing darker, the change in light was disorientating, the colors that had been Jades and lighter shade of greens were now menacingly dark and sinister. I realized that I was nervous, the mixture of shadows and darkness made my hair stand on end. I tried to shake off the feeling, I was scaring myself into seeing things, I thought the shadows were moving with nothing to cast them. I had to convince myself it was nothing, but it was anything but nothing.

I backed up slowly as I saw them coming towards me, there were three of them, but I tripped over some of the bracken that covered the forest floor. I landed hard next to a tree, I had considered it luck, at the time, that I hadn't fallen into the tree. I tried desperately to pull myself up on it, but it was useless the bark broke from the trunk in my grasp, the sharper pieces were digging into my palms before they broke apart, my desperation was making me clumsier.

I didn't know what it was about these people that made me so nervous, but my entire being filled with dread and my adrenaline kicked into overdrive.

I studied their faces as they came closer, it was their eyes, their eyes were as red as the blood that coursed through my veins. With their closeness, the contrast was more predominant, their pale skin seemed even whiter against the crimson irises.

My heart was thudding in my chest, my throat was tightening with my fear, all hope of screaming was gone. My only option was to run, I had to compose myself enough to get to my feet. I tried slowing my ragged breathing as I dug my hands into the ground beneath me and pushed, I had enough leverage to get my feet under me, I moved quickly and carefully as I pushed up.

I was on my feet, but my uncanny knack of falling when running didn't make my chances good. I had to try, I had to make an effort. My mind was screaming at me to escape, the fear was copious. Using the tree I pushed myself into a run, I watched the ground as I pushed forward, my lack of coordination would guarantee me tripping if I averted my eyes to anywhere other than the ground in front of me.

I pushed myself on even though I heard nothing that indicated that they were following me, I had come too far into the forest, I had walked for forty-five minutes, how long would it take me to get back at a run?

A fallen tree blocked my path ahead put I pushed harder, I had to jump it, if I slowed even a little they could catch me, I couldn't stop, I wouldn't. As I sprang from the ground to jump the thick trunk something wrapped around my waist and pulled me back, I landed on my back with a thump, something hard was between me and the ground and the impact had sent shock-wave through my system. A sharp pain ran up my spine making me shout out.

I could feel the tears building behind my eyes, they were tears of pain, and tears of anger. I was angry at myself for letting this happen. I was angry for going too far into the forest, I was angry at whatever had a hold of me. I wasn't going to give up without a fight, no matter how much my body tried to close down from the pain, I wouldn't give up.

"Where do you think you're going?" a smooth voice purred beneath me.

I struggled and squirmed trying to release myself from the grasp, but whatever I was hitting was as hard as stone, and didn't flinch from my flailing limbs.

"Feisty, isn't she?" a childlike voice said from behind me.

A pair of arms pulled me to my feet and I realized I was beaten, all three of them had caught up with me, each had a smirk on their faces.

"What's your name?" asked one of the men, he had a slight accent.

Instead of answering I just began struggling and kicking.

The red headed woman let out a cackle, her high pitched baby like whining made my stomach churn. Her voice didn't go with her looks. Her fiery hair and feline figure didn't match her voice in the slightest.

The arms around me moved to my arms, but the iron grip was unforgiving, I could feel the pain, the hands would leave significant bruises. I struggled futilely in the grasp.

"What do you want?" I spat vehemently.

"I like her tenacity," the man with the accent said laughing.

"Now, now, Laurent, where are your manners, you know better than to play with your food." The other male, who was still holding me, laughed happily.

My blood ran cold at his words, were they cannibals? What did they want with me?

"What are you?" I asked wriggling in the grasp again.

The red headed woman cackled again icily, "You haven't figured it out yet?"

I frowned at the woman, trying to keep my stare as ice cold as hers was. She stopped laughing and her lip curled up over her teeth.

"Victoria, calm down." Laurent said laughing merrily. "I like this girl."

Victoria's glare now turned to him, she crouched low to the ground and growled.

"Victoria," the man who was holding me finally spoke again. "If you start a fight, the coven that live close by will come, do you really want to deal with them? We are on their land."

"James," the woman pouted, her lip jutted out. "We aren't feeding?"

"We'll find somewhere else to feed, beautiful, just be patient." his tone had regained the purring quality.

"What about her? What do we do with her?" Victoria asked.

James' grip slackened and I took my opportunity to free myself from him, I threw my arm out and struck him with all of my force, hoping that the surprise of his would make him release me, it worked, but only partially.

As I took off running I felt hands on my waist again, but I wasn't going down without a fight, I spun in his grip and attempted to throw punches in his direction. his face was so hard I felt the bones crush a little under the pressure. I was able to get one good hit in before the pain started, but it wasn't from the broken bones, something had cut me, deeply. I could feel the warmth of the blood as it trickled down the side of my hand, with it came pain, my heart was pounding so fast with my fear that the blood oozed quickly from the wound. I tried to keep my composure, the smell of blood had always made me pass out, but I wasn't going to let it this time. I was taking control.

I tried breathing through my mouth alone, but the smell still hit me hard. I looked around the small group, their games and taunting seemed to have stopped, replaced by pure desire. Victoria and Laurent moved in slowly, their eyes trained only to my hand and the pulsing blood. James, behind me, had frozen.

"Bells!" my attention was taken from the three strangers, Jacob was coming, he'd seen the note, but by the desperation in his voice, I could tell he was worried. I was so glad I had thought ahead and left him a note on the door explaining where I was, but I had placed him in danger now. My relief was overshadowed by my guilt, how could I be relieved about my friend walking up on this mess, I had to distract these people, hope that they hadn't heard his call.

The sound of Jacob's voice didn't seem to distract them from the blood that was now pouring from my hand. "Please, don't do this." I whispered feebly.

The woman's eyes were growing darker, the crimson seemed to give way to the black of her pupils, my heart sped up again.

"Bells?" Jacob's voice was getting closer, I had to do something to protect him from this. I held my hand out towards Laurent and Victoria as they moved closer, but the pain was growing into burning and the smell of blood was engulfing me, I was fighting to keep consciousness now. If I could distract them all, I could lead them away from here and away from Jacob.

The three that stood around me seemed frozen, they moved in slow motion I wasn't sure what had them hesitating, I was offering myself to them on a silver platter, but my blood seemed to hold each of them captive. What was stopping them? They seemed so eager to kill me and now they were moving slowly around me. Why?

The burning began increasing, my heart was pushing it quickly around my system. The pain moved quickly up my arm, a scream of agony grew in my chest but I tried with everything I possessed to hold it back, if I screamed, Jacob would hear it and head towards me. My body shuddered with the pain, it was too much, I couldn't resist screaming much longer, the torturous feeling that wound it's way through my veins made my head pound, I was so dizzy, I just wanted to close my eyes, it was too much. I was willing them to kill me now, I wanted the pain to stop, it was unbearable.

"Bella?" Jacob's voice was too close now, I knew he could see what was happening, my head turned weakly to the direction of his voice. My lids were heavy over my eyes but I fought the urge to let them slide shut. i couldn't let this take over me. I had to fight.

For the first time since I started bleeding, my captors were distracted from my blood. Their eyes were trained on Jacob's form as he stood in the trees, his body was trembling, I could only imagine the fear that was washing over him and I felt guilty, I should never have left the note, I should never have come into the forest alone, I was going to get us both killed. Stabbing pains in my heart recognized my guilt and added to the oppressing blanket of weakness that was encompassing me.

As the pain became too much I screamed, the burning was taking over, it was more pain than I could have ever imagined, but I couldn't let go, I had to make sure Jacob was safe. Another screamed built inside of me as the pain surged, but I had to tell him to go, to save himself, he was just a boy.

"Run, Jacob." The words came mingled with the scream. Jacob's face paled with the the magnitude of pain that filled my tone.

His body shook violently, his face contorted into pure rage, he wasn't moving, he was going to fight. The pain sent a violent shudder through me, but James' grasp tighten around me.

"Kill me." I whispered to him, the pleading was mingled with the pain, and the words, I was sure, came out distorted.

James' breath was by my ear as my body writhed, "That would be too easy, princess."

"Let. Her. Go." I heard Jacob say through his teeth. He was practically vibrating now with the enormity of his trembles. Why wasn't he running?

Victoria cackled at his words, she simply saw him for the young boy he was.

"Jacob," I whined between the waves of pain, "Go, please."

His dark eyes narrowed in anger, something was happening to him, he opened his mouth to speak but a growl came, there were no formed words. James was still behind me, his cold hard body seemed like a statue, it hurt me as I shuddered and writhed in his arms, he was like a stone. My pain was driving my body to convulsions, and I was starting to fade, but I fought, I had to make sure Jacob escaped. I forced my eyes to open and look at him, but he was now tensed up tightly.

"Jake," I whimpered, but then he was gone. I was sure I was seeing things, his body exploded and stood in his space was a large wolf, it was the size of a horse and it's snarling teeth were bared behind the large open mouth. I let out a strangled scream, but it faded as I realized I had nothing to fear, I was already dying.

The pain had finally taken over me, before I lost consciousness, the wolf threw back it's head and howled, the noise was deafening. I felt James pull me into his arms and take off running, it felt like we were going too fast, but my last memory of this nightmare was a noise in the distance, it sounded like a howl, similar to the one that the animal that had exploded from Jake had done.

I drifted in and out of consciousness after that, each time I would hear the hushed tones of the three who had taken me. Their voices would come in and out with the surges of pain, but I was able to catch the topic of conversation. What to do about me. I tried to ignore them, I was laid in grass somewhere, but the pain was too unbearable to even open my eyes the burning had consumed me now, every inch of my body burned and ached, I just wanted them to finish me, put me out of this misery.

"Just kill her." Victoria shouted angrily, it was loud so I could hear it clearly through my pain, her voice added to it, it was like nails on a chalkboard to me. I faded out again.

I awoke once more to a conversation, but the ground beneath me had changed, it was harder, and the musky smell of damp wood surrounded me.

"We need her as leverage, that was a werewolf, Victoria, he obviously has some claim over this girl. She could guarantee our safe passage from here." Laurent said calmly.

I was finally becoming a little more conscious, the pain was still there, but a little more manageable. The blackness of the intense pain had not soothed me, I felt drained, my heartbeat was weak in my chest. I knew I was almost dead.

"She'll be changed before we manage to get out." Laurent said his accent heavy, "We could keep her around, a fourth."

"Are you insane, have a newborn running with us?" Victoria screeched in her piercing voice.

The conversation going on around me was confusing, I couldn't understand what they were talking about. It would all be explained in time.

"I will take responsibility for her, show her the way." Laurent offered.

"Of course you will, you . . ." Victoria never finished her sentence, James' low voice cut her off.

"I think that's fair, but if she screws up, it's your mess, you got me, Laurent?"

"That's fair." Laurent agreed.

Victoria snorted and I could hear her moving around quietly. Her feet were close to my head. I felt a hand on my heart.

"It's almost over, we'll be able to move soon. Her heart is slowing, the venom has done it's job." she said in a bored tone.

I was so confused, lost, scared and alone. Nothing they were saying made any sense to me, the whole thing had been so surreal. They'd wanted to feed from me, I remembered that, then the giant wolf, had it taken Jacob? Charlie, what about Charlie? He must be so worried, I had lost all sense of time because the pain had been so overwhelming, how long had I been with these people?

A pain in my chest drew my thoughts away from anything but the intensity of the sharp stabbing in my chest, it was starting again, but there was no burning just pure, ripping, torturous pain. Then it stopped, my heart had beaten it's last beat, and the pain dissipated with it, I fought for air, it came easily, but my consciousness was slipping, I was dead. My heart had stopped.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed that, I have an angle, but I want to explain how Bella got to where she is. . . (I also know that this is entirely too early for Jake to phase, in fact I think it's a year earlier than in New Moon, but I remembered a conversation between Jake and Bella where he tells her that he didn't phase sooner because he was happy I know that Sam is a wolf at this point, so I think being angry about what was happing in front of him and what was doing it, it was appropriate.) Please let me know how I'm doing, I, Like Bella, have strayed off the path, (I am also so used to writing Alice lol.)**

**Thank you for the reviews on the preface, you guys are awesome and you ROCK!**


	3. Chapter 2 Conscience

_**All things Twilight belong to the awesome and talented Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Chapter 2 - Conscience**

The light was finally fading in New York, it meant we would be leaving soon. I had no idea how we would get across the country this time. Laurent was finally starting to trust me more, I had been so desperate to get away from them those first few months, they'd had to bring my food to me. More often than not I refused it but when the thirst became too much for me I complied.

I had now gotten used to my companions, and I used the term loosely.

Victoria had treated me like a pet from the beginning, she'd never wanted me around, and I knew why. I was a threat to her, every time James spoke to me her eyes would narrow and her teeth would bare just enough for me to see the light hit them. Her favorite game was intimidating me. She continually pushed me, trying to get a reaction from me so she could kill me and have an excuse for doing so, but I never relented, even when I was living like a caged animal.

I had a little more freedom here, I had learnt to control my urges, Laurent had assured me that the desperate thirst would fade with time, and he had been right. The thirst was there, but it was manageable.

I had fought it that first week, when I finally found out what I was. I had woken up in the forest, everything was so surreal, I could hear anything moving withing a five mile radius, my vision was so sharp, and I could see in any light. I was strong, stronger than any one of my captors, and my heightened senses made the breeze feel like a gale force wind on my sensitive skin.

It had all been so new to me, Laurent had brought me my first victim. He was a hiker that had been hiking in the Olympic ranges alone. The fear in his eyes had stopped me from devouring him on the spot, but there was a burning in the back of my throat that kicked my instincts into over drive. The internal battle that raged had been so difficult, I had almost lost to my darker side, the nagging in the back of my mind that was urging me to take him. My eyes saw the blood as it passed under his skin, pushed gently by the beating heart I could hear speeding up in his chest. Everything else in me was screaming no, my last shred of humanity begged me to stop . . . to stop breathing, stop the smell that danced in the back of my throat promising me relief from the burning, the aching. But I had resisted, barely.

Victoria could see the animal inside of me waiting to be released, she would spill the blood of her victims and the smell lingered as she drank slowly, her eyes never leaving me. My defenses weakened the longer I resisted, I wasn't sure how long I could stay away from the temptation.

Laurent never pushed me, he knew I would give up eventually and saw no reason to continually torture me with what I now was, a predator. James, was a different story altogether. He never pushed, but my hesitance frustrated him, he couldn't understand why I fought my natural urges. I would never be able to explain it to him, so I never tried. It was easier to act like the stubborn, bratty teenager that he saw me to be.

We stayed in the Olympic range for a week after my transformation, the three of them seemed to be shaken by something, they were nervous about venturing south, certain that something was waiting for them. So when we finally left, we headed north, over the Canadian border and headed east on foot.

That was when I had my first encounter with human blood, we had been walking for two days, there had been nothing but nature surrounding us. The burning in my throat had been steadily increasing the longer we walked, and my strength was deteriorating quickly. My thirst was taking control of me, all of my resolve had been expelled. I needed to feed. The burning was consuming, I could do nothing but obsess about drinking blood, even the animals look appetizing to me. The smell of their blood pumping through their systems with adrenaline as our presence scared them had my tongue dancing across my lips.

That's when the smell hit me, I could smell a human, and I wasn't the only one. Each of our heads snapped in the direction of the smell, my throat throbbed with desire. In my desperation I clung to Laurent, he knew what I wanted. The smile on his face told me he would oblige.

"The girl needs to feed, James, I can take her, but I can't promise to keep her under control, she's been starving herself for a week."

James' eyes moved to me briefly, a large smirk spread across his lips. Victoria was behind him dancing happily at my demise.

'Stay here with her, we'll go and bring something back for you both."

Laurent nodded, but my senses had taken control, the smell that had hit me, mesmerized me. Nothing had ever smelled so good. Laurent pulled me to the ground next to him. We would have to wait, there was no doubt that James and Victoria would feed before bringing us back something.

"What's your name?" he asked gently, he was trying to distract me.

"Bella,"

"I'm Laurent,"

I looked at him suspiciously. "Why didn't you kill me in the forest? When I was human I mean. I held my hand for you feed from but you all moved so slowly."

Laurent looked down without answering, I could feel the anger growing inside of me, it was battling the excruciating thirst. A small growl escaped me, I surprised Laurent, and myself.

"I can't really explain it. We'd just fed, but your scent was so appealing we couldn't pass you by. When your blood was finally spilled, it was almost hypnotic. I wanted it so badly, but I couldn't push myself to take it." he said as his brow creased. It seemed he was just as perplexed as I was.

"Is that normal?" I asked curiously, the smell that was dancing around me now, did nothing but make me thirst for it, I couldn't imagine something smelling too good to take.

Laurent shook his head. "First time I've ever come across it."

I sighed, the vibration of the air irritated my throat. The smell was palpable now, I was straining to keep control of my senses, the urge to run to the smell was overwhelming, but my humanity was still screaming at me. Next to me was Laurent, I seemed to have more strength in me, even in my weakened state, than he did, everything that I had learned about my new self ran through my mind and I knew, this could be my only chance to escape.

Laurent seemed lost in thought, our topic of conversation had his mind preoccupied, his gaze was aimed at the trees surrounding us. I moved my leg slowly and shifted my body, I was testing him. I wanted to know how much of his attention was trained on me, but he didn't move. I shifted away from him again, there was still nothing. Without another thought I jumped to my feet and found myself sprinting through the trees. My heightened hearing picked up his hushed footsteps behind me as I ran, but I found my speed quickly and I had balance, something I'd never had before. I wove in and out of the trees as I ran, trying to lose him, but he was just as quick and executed his movements with more eloquence than I could ever muster, his arms were around my waist quickly.

"Bella, no." He sighed gently.

'Please, I just want to go home." I muttered hopelessly.

"You don't have a home anymore, as far as your family is concerned you're dead, Bella. We staged your death. There is no going back. Please, I will take care of you."

I let my body go limp in his arms, there was no fighting this, no one knew what had happened to me, and now they thought I was dead. I was on my own.

"That's it. You must be thirsty expending the last of your energy like that." he cooed gently, he seemed quite paternal in his actions and it soothed me a little, but I still didn't trust him.

I nodded weakly and let him guide me back to where we had been sat. We waited for a while, and I knew that James and Victoria were drinking their share before heading back to us. I could barely contain myself when the scent of blood became stronger to me. I knew that Victoria and James were heading back towards us, and I knew that they had someone with them, specifically for us. My animal side wouldn't let me think of it as a who, it craved the sustenance.

Victoria and James appeared through the trees, with them was a man, seemingly in his early twenties, he was accompanied by a woman who was close to the same age, they strolled towards us with their own free will. The burning in my throat pushed me forwards to the man, I could no longer resist.

The guy appraised me, looking me up and down as I approached him, my tongue once again danced across my lips in the anticipation of what freely flowed through him, I could smell it. The vein in his neck pulsated, in sync with the beating of his heart, he was excited.

I stopped in front of him and he smiled at me seductively, I returned the smile, playing into his game. I had no idea what I was doing, my instincts had taken control and I allowed it the freedom, as long as it brought me what I desired. The pounding in my throat was more than I could stand. The guy lent in closer, his hands were on my waist. Once again my humanity kicked in, screaming how wrong this was, but I couldn't stop, his neck was inches from my razor sharp teeth, and the smell was like a drug to me. The man closed the space between us and my teeth sank into his neck, cutting through the flesh like butter. The warm blood flooded me with relief as it slid silkily down my throat, my eyes rolled into the back of my head at the pure ecstacy of the feeling, the relief was monumental, the burning subdued as I satiated my thirst. Then my conscience returned.

I let the body of the man fall to the floor and took a step back, my hand went to my mouth in disgust, the warm crimson liquid was still on my lips. I pulled my hand away and saw the dark red.

"No, no, no, no," I screamed as I dropped to my knees, "what have I done."

I could hear the smug laugh of Victoria and James as I curled in on myself. I had just killed someone, I was a murderer. I felt so dirty, so horribly sickened at what I had done I simply rocked, a small whimper escaping as my eyes met the cold dead stare of the man I had killed.

"Bella," I heard Laurent's hushed tone in my ear, soothing me. "The first is always the hardest, but you can't let it destroy you."

"I just killed someone," I muttered quietly.

"Yes, you did, but it gets easier with time." he chuckled lightly, "now I have to show you how to clean up after yourself."

I looked at him icily, this was more difficult that I had ever anticipated, the guilt was eating me alive, there was nothing to stop this pain, this was something that would stay with me. The blissful relief was gone, and in it's place was not satisfaction as the others seemed to be reveling in, instead, there was the deepest regret I had ever experienced, I hated myself, I would rather have died than live like this, I would never stoop to that level again. Never, the emotions running through me now would never allow it, it was causing me more pain than I could live with, how could this be in my nature?

"Bella," Laurent's voice was soft but authoritative.

I crawled to my feet not saying a word. This was my penance for what I had done. Laurent motioned for me to follow him. I obliged. He picked up the girl he had killed and headed towards a tall strong tree, with little effort, he uprooted it and dropped the body into the cavernous hole. My muscles contracted in my stomach, in human form it would be considered retching, but as a vampire it was a spasm, a mere shadow of my human self. It was caused by the lack of respect they had when disposing of the body of their victims. It seemed so cold. I nodded to show my understanding.

"I'll take care of this one for you." he said as he drove the tree back into the ground and into the body that lay below it. My sensitive ears picked up the sickening crunch of the bones below the ground.

I simply nodded my head and turned away from the horrific sight, I was grateful for his understanding, I wouldn't have been able to follow through with the brutal burial of my victim.

The first feeding had left a deep scar on my soul, but it wasn't the last time I fed from a human. However, I constantly pushed myself, to not feed as frequently and in the year since my change, I could now successfully go a month without feeding before the need became too strong. I was finally in control of my thirst. It was the only way to live, there was no other way, or at least that was what my companions had told me. I was sure that there had to be a better way. There had to be a large populace of vampires out there, the only ones I had ever met were the ones I traveled with, and I had never trusted them fully.

As the sounds of the horns reached me from the city below, I was pulled out of my reverie by the voice of the only person in the group I called a friend, Laurent.

"Bella," his voice was quiet and sympathetic. He understood my hesitance to return.

I spun on the narrow ledge to face him and smiled weakly.

"I know this is difficult, sweetheart, but James is determined to stop this."

"Stop what exactly, Laurent, you know his hesitance to tell me anything." I said as I hopped down from the ledge and onto the giant balcony that was attached to the apartment.

Laurent laughed merrily at me, "The tracking, child, will you keep up."

"I got that much," I said rolling my eyes, "But _what_ is tracking us?"

James was the most skilled tracker around, Laurent had been eager to tell me that after my third attempt to escape. It wasn't hard to see how true it was, James could find anyone or anything. He found where my mother had moved to so I would know she was safe.

As I waited, I could see Laurent's hesitance to answer my question, he checked the door behind him and then pointed to an overstuffed chair that was part of the patio furniture that adorned the lavish balcony. I took a seat and waited expectantly.

'How much do you remember about the day you were changed?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Pretty much everything, I think. Most of my memories have faded with time, but that is still so clear to me." I said honestly.

"Do you remember the conversation we had in front of you, when Victoria tried to attack me?"

"About another cov. . ." my voice trailed off, it made perfect sense, they had hunted on the covens land. "Then why are we going back?"

"Some of them have been tracking us, and James thinks if we confront them directly we can get them off our backs."

"What do you think?" I asked staring into his darkening eyes.

Laurent glanced back at the door again before answering, "I think it's a bad idea, we don't know why they're following us, we could be walking into a trap."

"Do James and Victoria _think_ they know why they're tracking us?"

"Yes." Laurent answered simply, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck in frustration.

I rolled my eyes, he was procrastinating. He always regarded me as being weak, it was my own fault, this first year had been hard to swallow, but I had finally come to terms with what I was, and what I had to do to survive, I needed him to stop treating me like I was made of glass.

"Spit it out, Laurent." I demanded.

"You."

"Me?"

"James thinks that maybe we caused a problem for them, because we took you."

A lightbulb went off in my head and I stood up, my anger was growing rapidly, I knew that this was Victoria's idea, it had her written all over it.

"So you're giving me back?" I laughed spitefully.

"No, Bella, they want to. . ." but he never finished his sentence, the door was opening and James was stepping out onto the rapidly darkening balcony.

James laughed as he pulled the door closed behind him. "See, Laurent, I told you she would be on the balcony."

Laurent nodded and looked at me, a warning to not say a word was written across his darkening irises, we hadn't fed in a while and his usual crimson eyes were a dark burgundy as his thirst grew. I nodded as James looked over the edge of the building.

"Will you miss this, Bella?"

"Yeah, I think I will. Being this high up is kind of liberating." I admitted heading to his side and looking down into the small lights that dotted the street.

"I'm sure as hell not going to miss that traffic, the smog is almost unbearable."

I laughed without feeling, "What time are we leaving?" I asked casually. When Laurent gave me a warning, I heeded it.

"Soon, Victoria has gone to get us a car."

"You sent, Victoria?" Laurent sighed from behind us.

James' eyes darkened at the insult aimed at his mate. "Yeah, why?"

Laurent laughed trying to calm the awkwardness of the situation, "You know how she enjoys those little sports cars, and I have to agree, they're nice, but there's never much leg room."

James laughed with him now. I told her to get something comfortable, she could come back with anything, I have to learn to be more specific.

I rolled my eyes, having to spend hours cramped and squashed into the back of a mustang was never my idea of fun, and with their being two of us, it made it all the more uncomfortable. I was hoping she would be lenient.

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**A/N: Okay, I apologize if that was brutal, but it needed to be done, she's not with the Cullens at the moment, she doesn't know any better. It's okay if you want to throw things at me, I understand, believe me, it was hard to write. Let me know what you think, because you're awesome comments and reviews help me more than you probably know. YOU GUYS ROCK . . . (and please if you throw things, make them soft ;I) -HUGZ TO YOU ALL-  
**


	4. Chapter 3 Complications

_**All Things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer (A Month till breaking Dawn!)**_

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**Chapter 3 - Complications**

Victoria, for once, had chosen something decent to steal. The whole process of stealing cars was crude to me, before I had been thrown into this life I had never stepped a foot outside of the law. I never had any need to, especially when my father was the police chief in Forks, but living as we did, crime was our only option.

It seemed to me like I made so many exceptions for our behavior now, but it never quieted my conscience, it was against everything I stood for, so I let the nagging guilt pull me under, I felt it was deserved and held onto it with such conviction that I often spent my time alone, away from the group.

We climbed into the back of the SUV happily, Laurent seemed just as surprised as I did, something this big and cumbersome would never have been her usual choice of vehicle, but we most certainly weren't complaining. James seemed to be the only one that was slightly disappointed.

"A Suburban?"

Victoria glared at his words, "The keys were in the ignition, it was an easy steal. You want something better, next time do it yourself!" she spat angrily.

James glared at her icily. This was a bad sign, it meant they would be arguing the entire journey. I looked to Laurent who simply rolled his eyes and relaxed into his seat for the ride.

James took his place in the passenger seat, Victoria seemed to enjoy driving so no one ever offered. It was little things like that I was growing accustomed to. I had traveled with them for a year now. I could see what direction things were going because I knew them well enough to pick up on the indicators. To them, however, I was still a mystery, the only one who had even attempted to figure me out was Laurent. He was always so kind to me, he had all the qualities of a father. I had become a little more comfortable around him, it was the other two that made me nervous.

One thing was for certain, the looks they were giving one another in the front of the car meant a guaranteed fight sometime close in the future. I was hoping that it wouldn't take place in the confines of the car, the two of them knew their strengths and weaknesses, and things often got ugly, quickly.

The atmosphere in the vehicle was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. Laurent and I held our silence. When James and Victoria fought, either one of them would turn their rage on us in an instant if our presence was even noted. It was just another thing I had learnt.

Laurent had been the only teacher among them, he was eager to help me learn all of the new things about myself, what I was capable of, my strengths, how to use each of my heightened senses. He'd even taught me a little about fighting, he was hesitant at first because he'd thought I'd use it against them, but after a large promise, and a lot of begging he'd finally agreed.

He'd been in the Napoleonic Wars as a young vampire, it had made his killings less conspicuous, he fought in most of the major wars after that, it didn't seem to matter what they were fighting about or who was fighting them, it was just the draw of easy kills that appealed to him.

He taught me some skills from the battles he'd fought in, I had become a fast learner and picked up a large majority of his teachings quickly. He explained that with my vampirism came a photographic memory, it made learning things easier.

All too quickly I was over powering him in our fights, it was then that he'd refused to teach me any more. I knew he was afraid I would use it against him, but I had wanted to learn as protection, I didn't want to be killed by Victoria, I knew the large distaste she had for me and I wouldn't out it past her to take me out the first opportunity she could get.

Victoria and James had never really paid too much attention to the two of us when we would train, they thought themselves above it all. I hoped I would never have to use the skills but it killed the time and helped me grow accustomed to my new body.

We had been driving in silence for three hours when we finally stopped for gas, Victoria and James hadn't spoken a word to one another the entire time. I pushed my door open and hopped out, the station was quiet it was only nine at night, but there were no other cars.

James climbed from the passenger seat and headed towards the pump, he had a stack of credit cards that he'd stolen from his victims, he would use them until they no longer worked, and then threw them away. The newest cards in his collection were taken from the apartment we'd just vacated. He was certain that they wouldn't be missed, as long as he used them carefully. The people who had lived there were wealthy, a dent as small as the one he would make in their fortune would go unnoticed.

I headed towards the forest that was sprawled out behind the station. The oppressive atmosphere in the car was taking it's toll on me and I needed time to be alone, to clear my head.

"Where are you going?" Victoria hissed as I walked past her open window.

"A run, I need to stretch my legs." I answered.

James looked through the window at me with raised eyebrows.

"What?" I asked defensively, "Do you honestly believe I would still run from you?"

"Let her go, she'll be fine." Laurent's voice was quiet from where he was still reclining in the back seat.

"Ten minutes, Bella." James sighed as he turned his attention to Victoria. He eyes once again grew dark as he assessed her mood, I was hoping they would get it out of the way while I was gone. I hated to see them fight. The first time it had happened it scared me and it took hours for Laurent to calm and reassure me that it was a simple domestic fight between them. The pure ferocity that they had attacked one another with had taken me by surprise, it was like watching a pair of lions fighting, the noise had been tremendous.

"Fine," I sighed and took off towards the trees, I hated being trapped in confined spaces with the three of them, they suffocated me. I didn't know who I was when I was around them, I was a shadow of the person I used to be. I enjoyed my time alone, I felt like me, like the human me.

The forest was unusually quiet, I could hear no movements of animals, no breathing, no heartbeats, and no chirping, it was silent, a slight breeze played with the leaves on the trees occasionally but there was no other sound present. It sent chills down my spine, my senses were screaming at me to turn around and run but my curiosity was too strong, it was too soon to head back towards the car now, I needed to be away from them.

I jogged further into the forest slowly, I was hoping that something would make a sound at my movements, but the silence continued. It was deafening. I hadn't noticed how much noise was normally in a forest until it was gone. The eerie silence continued as I wandered deeper into the trees, the wind picked up a little giving me some small relief from the silence. The leaves rustled on the branches.

I sat down on a fallen tree and listened intently. There had to be something around. The trees were perfect cover and it was far enough away from civilization to be teeming with creatures, yet there was nothing.

My ears adapted quickly to the silence, but it didn't make it any less mysterious. The wind picked up again and with the hushed swaying of the leaves was another noise, I hadn't noticed it before, it was faint and the rhythm moved with the swaying of the leaves, but it was a different movement, more human than the leaves. I closed my eyes and listened closely. The wind swept through the forest once more, and I had been right, the sound of movement came with the soft ruffling of the leaves, it was the sound of running feet, pounding softly and lightly on the ground if I hadn't been paying attention I would have missed it. My curiosity piqued.

I knew it had to be a vampire, only a creature like us would think to move around hidden in the natural sounds of the forest. Who ever it was had gone above and beyond in this silent movement.

I stood up from my makeshift seat and moved silently to a thick tree, if it was a vampire, I was putting myself in unnecessary danger. I stood leaning against the tree, listening to the sounds as it drew closer to me, I should be afraid, but my curiosity was trumping the fear. I had yet to meet a vampire other than those that had changed me. The breeze died away again leaving the silence to engulf me.

I stepped away from the tree and headed back in the direction I'd come from. I stepped carefully, trying to avoid stepping on anything that would break under my tread. The wind once again swirled around me bringing with it the hushed footsteps, I picked up my pace a little, the sound had been closer than the last time. I hadn't expected that, it had been so consistent while I was sitting still. The wind calmed itself until it was gone completely, but this time the movement didn't stop with it, it kept moving, and it was coming straight at me.

I was fast, but I could never have outrun whatever was coming at me, I could hear the air as it swept past it, it was moving quickly and it was almost upon me. I had one choice, fight!

My instincts took over and pushed me into a crouch as I turned, I could feel the hair standing on the back of my neck as I listened to the sound, it was playing with me, hiding amongst the trees. I let my lip pull up over my teeth and a growl built in my chest. My eyes followed the sound as it moved around me.

I could feel the muscles tensing as my body rocked slowly into position, it was getting closer, but continued to hide. The growl rumbled from my throat as I heard the sound split into two, I should have known.

This changed things but I was still confident, I was strong, I still had some of my newborn strength and I had thankfully fed before we left the city. The two sets of footsteps were circling me now. My body lowered further towards the ground, it gave me more momentum when I pounced.

Both sets of footsteps began moving quickly, they circled around me, the noise more evident than anything else in the forest now, but I couldn't keep track of them both so I focused on just one. It was all I needed, take them down and move on.

I caught sight of one of them as they darted between the trees, I wouldn't wait now, I pushed forward, my toes dug into the ground as I propelled quickly towards the moving object, but I had missed the sound of movement behind me. I felt a set of arms wrap around me and encompass me, they held me tightly in an iron grip. I looked down to see a muscular pair of arms wrapped around the top of my arms and across my chest.

I wasn't out yet, he'd made a mistake letting my legs and hands go free.

I hooked my leg though his and twisted until it was tangled between the two, with the leg that was still on the ground, I pushed with every ounce of strength I possessed, I felt the imbalance as I writhed in his grip, I threw my head back into his chest and the contact let out a deafening boom, it resonated around the trees.

The action had caught him off guard and his grip slackened for just a brief second, but I took the opportunity and twisted free. As soon as I was free I span and planted my foot in his chest with all of my force and pushed. His body propelled back about twenty feet before it connected with a tree, the loud cracking of the wood confirmed that he had taken the hit. He scrambled to his feet, his face wore his confusion, he hadn't expected my strength.

The second set of feet were coming towards me from behind. I dropped to the floor landing on all four of my limbs, it was another man, tall and slender, his blond hair pushed back with his speed. I pounced and came in contact with him, a thunderous boom sounded as we made contact. We fell to the floor causing the damp ground beneath us to tremble. We were fighting for control, rolling in the damp leafy forest floor, I kept both of my arms free from him as he tried to pin me to the ground. I wouldn't go down that easily a second time. I threw elbows at him, they were the most brutal part of my body, I didn't want to really hurt these men, but I wanted them to know I could look after myself and that I wouldn't go down without a fight. Something told me that they weren't trying to hurt me, they were being relatively gentle in their actions, but I trusted no one, after the last year of my life, no one had given me reason to.

The other male had regained his composure and was heading towards the fight. I had to get away from them and back to my companions, it was my only hope to scare them away for good, four of us would outnumber them .

I pushed away from the man on the floor and took to my feet, the larger of the two was heading straight for me, his face held a bemused smile on it. Who were they?

I took off on foot, it was the wrong direction from that which I needed to go but it was the only open route. I picked up speed as I ran, I could hear their feet hit lightly in the ground behind me, they were just as fast as me and I knew that I would have to push myself harder to get away.

I darted through the trees hoping to disorientate them, but they were quick to follow my example, I was heading further into the trees than I needed to go, I didn't know how far I had come, I would have to double back to find the gas station, I was hoping Victoria hadn't gotten one of her bright ideas and decided to leave me behind, I was sure at this point James wouldn't argue.

I took a hard right and headed in a big circle around the two that were chasing me, I ran swiftly through the trees now, I was following my own scent back to where I needed to go, but I could hear the men behind me speeding up, they were closing ground and I was pushing myself as hard as I could.

Whoever they were, they were persistent, I had to give them that. I decided to try something different, I dug my heels into the ground and quickly slid to a stop, I spun around and stared at them. They slowed to a stop a couple of feet away from me. I just glared at them angrily, there was something different about the two of them that I couldn't put my finger on, they seemed so serene and angelic to me.

I took one step backwards, my eyes still darting between the two of them. They didn't move, so I took another step back. The big guy had the bemused smile still painted on his face, he was enjoying the little game I seemed to be playing with them. The smaller blond guy seemed irritated.

I took another step back, but this time they stepped forward. They seemed relaxed by my movements, they didn't seem threatening at all. I relaxed myself slowly, my tensed muscles began to ease out of attack mode.

"Who are you?" I asked, confusion coating my usually even tones.

They looked at one another and then back at me.

"You don't recognize us?" The larger of the two asked, grinning at me.

"No, should I?" I asked taking another step back.

The big guy nodded again.

I stared at the two of them as they stood completely still in front of me. My eyes drifted over them as I racked my brain for the answer. I couldn't find where I had seen them before, so much had been fading from my memory. They must have been from my human life, I could remember very little of it. I hadn't come across anyone other than the poor victims in this new life.

"Were we friends?" I asked confused. I took yet another step back, hoping that I could get a far enough lead to outrun them.

The blond man shook his head slowly, he smiled at me and I felt a wave of calm spread through me. "No," his deep satin voice filled the space between us. "We were in school together."

I stopped all of my movements, there was a distant memory playing on the lines of my mind, they had sisters and another brother, I could almost see his handsome face in my mind. I had thought of him often in my last days as a human. He had been the one to disappear from school . . . then it slapped me in the face, Edward Cullen.

"You're the Cullen's."

The bigger guy nodded, a goofy smile spread across his lips. "That's right. I'm Emmett, and he's Jasper." He said pointing to the blond next to him. "And you're just the person we've been looking for Isabella Swan."

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**A/N: All will be revealed lol, I'm not sure what to say about this chapter, I like it and I have put a tremendous amount of effort into it, but I couldn't get it any longer. The kept getting to the same place at the same time. Hopefully the chapters will begin beefing out now. Please let me know what I did right and what I did wrong, this is all so different lol.**

**thank you for the alerts and Faves and a big Thank you to the reviewers . . . YOU GUYS ROCK! -BIG HUGZ -**

_**-EDIT: **_**I have put up three covers I designed on my profile (I was bored at work) . . . I'd love to know which you like best . . . thanx -L**


	5. Chapter 4 Forks

_**All Things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer (30 Days!)**_

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**Chapter 4 - Forks**

The two Cullen's stood in front of me, completely relaxed. Hearing my name coming from Emmett had stopped my urge to escape, and it was obvious. They edged closer to me and I didn't move, they seemed to know my fight or flight urge had diminished.

I hadn't thought much about Edward since my change, as a human I'd held onto the image of him, the memory of his beauty. I'd met him once, and I had become infatuated, but time heals, and that was one thing it had taken from me. His haunting good looks had mesmerized me at the time, he'd been in my dreams on more than one occasion.

"Isabella?" Jasper whispered quietly, breaking me from my reverie.

I smiled at them, "It's Bella."

Jasper nodded, "We're sorry if we scared you, Bella, but we've been trying to get you on your own for weeks now."

"You're the ones tracking us?"

Emmett nodded proudly, I couldn't help but smile at him. It seemed odd that they would go through all of this trouble just for me, they didn't know me, and the small amount of time we'd attended Forks high together they hadn't so much as acknowledged my existence.

As we stood in companionable silence, I took the time to take in their appearance, they were both well dressed, each of them now covered in mud and leaves, courtesy of me, but their style was impeccable. Both held the beauty and grace all vampires possessed, it was part of our design, another tool to lure in our prey. It was what had drawn my first victim in, why he'd been so willing to come to me, even with my crimson eyes.

It was then that I realized what was so different about the two of them, my thoughts dwelling on eyes had instinctively drawn me to theirs, and they weren't the disturbing red color that mine took after feeding, they were a beautiful golden color, the warmest tone of yellow, Topaz was the first thing to come to mind. I couldn't understand how they could possibly be that color, but there they were, directly in front of me, gazing at my confounded expression.

"Bella?" Emmett's deep voice pulled me out of my thoughts, he was watching me curiously.

"Your eyes . . . how?" I asked, glad that I could no longer blush, living with Victoria and James had taken it's toll and my manners seemed to have slipped through my fingers.

Emmett and Jasper exchanged a glance before looking back to me. I waited silently for an answer.

"Bella, our father, Carlisle, will be more than willing to answer any questions you have, and I'm sure he'll do it with more eloquence than either of us. We were hoping you would come with us, so we can explain everything." Emmett said hopefully.

"Explain what?" I asked.

"Why we've been following you, why the people you were traveling with were heading back towards Forks." Jasper answered honestly.

I looked back in the direction I knew that Laurent was waiting for me. I hated breaking his trust, but the idea of escaping with the two men in front of me and never looking back appealed to me, it seemed like the natural thing to do.

I stood in silence contemplating my options. As much as I had come to respect Laurent, I still hated Victoria and James, they had made my life miserable over the past year, both treated me like a lap dog. A pet that they could play with when they got bored. They had never trusted me, every conversation would be out of my range of hearing, I never knew what was coming, or where we were going. In front of me, they were offering me answers, they were treating me like the person I used to be rather than the monster that stood in her place. The choice was easy, I would willingly go with them. It was a little irrational to trust them so easily, but it was the better of the two options I had laid out in front of me.

A simple buzzing drew me from my thoughts, it was coming from Jasper, he smiled at me and pulled a cell phone from his pocket flipping it open.

"Alice," he said and a serene and graceful smile filled his handsome features.

I could hear an excited buzzing coming from the phone, I couldn't make out the words, it seemed as though the volume on the phone had been lowered, it made sense considering how sensitive our hearing was.

"Yes, Alice, I think so." he said quietly.

Emmett rolled his eyes and chuckled quietly, it was obvious he could plainly hear the conversation. The buzzing voice continued and the smile on Jasper's face faltered a little.

"I understand. Thanks, Alice."

His smile returned at the response he received.

"I love you too." he said before flipping the phone closed and returning it to his pocket. He looked at Emmett who had tensed a little at the words from the other end of the phone. The mood had changed between them, it seemed a little more businesslike than it had been.

"Bella," Jasper addressed me directly and I turned my attention to him. "Your companions will be looking for you soon. I hate to rush your decision, but we have to leave, we didn't come to confront them," Emmett snorted at this, I was sure he would be happy to confront them, "We came to ask you to accompany us, it's your choice, we won't push you." Jasper concluded.

I looked at the two of them and then towards the car where Laurent and the others were. I had already made up my mind, but I didn't want to appear too eager. The mere fact that they had offered me a choice had sparked a little hope in me. Maybe life didn't have to be the way that James and the others lived, maybe there was an alternative. I let my eyes wander to the two of them again and nodded. Emmett seemed happy and Jasper, relieved.

"We should go, they're getting closer." Jasper said and inclined his head in the direction we would be heading.

I stepped forward to the space they had made for me between them. Every action I seemed to take around them came to me without thinking about it, something about them held my trust.

"You ready?" Emmett asked grinning.

I nodded and took off at a run. They were faster than I was but held pace with me as we ran, it was nice running with the two of them, there was no pressure. They flanked me on both sides but it wasn't uncomfortable, they were simply guiding me in the right direction. I didn't know where we were going but I trusted them enough to let them take control.

It all seemed so surreal, I was placing my trust in these two people and I knew next to nothing about them, they were as mysterious to me now as they had been when I was at school. Of course, now I knew they were vampires some of the smaller things that had intrigued me as a human made perfect sense. Their pale skin and angelic beauty, their solitude. All systematic signatures of vampires.

We continued running for a while, I heard cars moving ahead of us, the noise was quiet but I knew we were heading towards a road, the traffic buzzed by, it was still a way ahead of us, but we getting closer, our speed assured me of that. Our footfalls were in sync now, and had been for a while, it seemed to cut down the noise we made.

"Can I ask you guys something?" I said easily as I ran.

"Sure," Emmett responded, the way he was moving made it seem like a leisurely jog to him, I knew I was slowing the two of them, but I had no idea where I was going.

"Why was the forest so quiet? There were no animals, I couldn't hear a thing but the leaves, and then I heard your footsteps. That was very clever by the way." I said grinning.

"Thanks," Jasper was beaming now. "and as for your question, there is a storm coming in, the animals seem to scatter when rough weather comes in. It'll more than likely snow tonight, the silence is a good indication of that."

I nodded satisfied with the answer. I had so much to learn. To me it seemed that James and the others had kept me in the dark about so many of the things about my new life. I think I'd known it, Laurent would often take me on walks when he wanted to explain something to me. This brought my train of thought once again to my former traveling companions.

I wasn't sure how Laurent and the others would take my disappearance. I knew that Laurent would be disappointed, it was James and Victoria that I was unsure of. The two of them would be angry that I had gone against them, and I was a little worried that they would find me. James was a tracker, it was something that he was passionate about, he'd perfected his skills and had been quick to explain that he had only failed once when tracking, and he refused to let it happen again. It was his way of stopping me from running, he thought if he left it as a threat I would be a little more hesitant to leave them in fear of being caught.

I couldn't really see Victoria being upset, I knew she would be accepting of my absence, but she would be upset that I had managed to escape, to her I was a prisoner, one she would rather see dead than able to walk away. If James decided to track me, she would most certainly follow, she wanted the opportunity to kill me, and this would give her the fortuity.

I refused to think about the three of them anymore, at least for now. jasper, Emmett and I hit a side road before arriving at the highway, tree branches hung low over the opening to the road and I was sure the turn off couldn't be seen from the highway, which meant that their vehicle wouldn't be discovered.

The large Jeep sat parked to the side of the dirt road. It was monstrous, the wheels were large which caused the doors to be at least four feet from the ground. Lights adorned the top of the body, as well as across the bull bar on the front of it. The paint on it had a high gloss, it was obviously well taken care of, and it was, at least to me, obvious it was Emmett's.

I jumped lithely into the large Jeep as Emmett pulled the door open for me. I grinned at him and sat on the comfortable fabric of the back seat. Jasper and Emmett took their places in the front, Emmett behind the wheel. The awkward looking straps that had replaced the seat belts looked like to much work so I decided to not bother. That turned out to be a big mistake.

Emmett turned the ignition and the growl that emitted from under the hood was impressive, I didn't know much about cars but I knew that sound, it often came with the faster cars Victoria liked.

Emmett threw the car into gear snapping me away from the thoughts of my former companions, he took off, kicking up dirt with his back tires, we were facing away from the highway, but Emmett made sure to change that, he got the Jeep to a high rate of speed before pulling the steering wheel hard to the side. The back end of the Jeep slid but continued to spin creating a fountain of mud behind us. The vehicle finally corrected itself and we were finally facing the right direction, I clung to the edge of my seat desperately, as soon as we were straight again I grappled for the safety straps, now I understood why such complex seat belts were required, Emmett was a maniac behind the wheel.

Jasper grinned at me as I strapped myself in, but with his smile came a sense of calm, it washed over me like a comfortable blanket and all of the fear that came with Emmett's driving dissipated.

As we merged with the traffic I relaxed into my seat, the atmosphere in this car was the complete opposite of that I had been suffering in the Suburban. The two men in the front chatted comfortable between themselves, occasionally chuckling at something the other had said. I wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation, I was still thinking about what had just occurred.

Now I had time to really think about what I had agreed to and a sudden realization washed over me.

"Eh, Jasper?" I asked, I wasn't able to sit forward in my seat, the straps had me in place and I could barely move. Jasper, who wasn't wearing the safety belts turned in his seat to look at me.

"Yes, Bella?"

"I need to ask you something before we get to your family." I said, hoping against hope that I would get some kind of explanation from him.

Jasper looked at me as though he could feel my hesitance. His brow furrowed a little and he nodded indicating that I should continue.

"I'm a little concerned, will your other brother, Edward, be there?" I asked in a hushed tone, I felt embarrassed for asking, I wasn't sure if he would understand the question, but the small smile of recognition that danced across his lips, told me he knew exactly what I was asking.

"Yes, he's there but what happened was a misunderstanding. I know he would like to apologize for it." Jasper said trying to hide his smile.

"A _misunderstanding_?" I asked ostentatiously. "He was sat beside me for less than an hour and was never seen again, I would say that was more than a _misunderstanding_, Jasper!"

Emmett's loud laugh boomed around the interior of the Jeep. Jasper and I stared at him incredulously. but Emmett's laugh seemed to be contagious, Jasper's face soon fell and he was laughing alongside Emmett.

"I really don't see the humor here." I said folding my arms across my chest in protest.

Jasper's laugh died down into a light chuckle before he spoke again.

"Sorry, Bella. It's just Edward has a tendency to overreact to things."

"Okay, exactly _what _was he overreacting to?" I said narrowing my eyes.

"Bella," Emmett sighed loudly, "I think we should let Edward explain. The _reason_ he left really isn't funny, but the fact that he stayed away so long, is."

The conversation was going around in circles and I was getting frustrated at their refusal to answer the question. Jasper's face dropped as he watched me pouting, Emmett simply laughed again. an easy wave of calm washed over me again, it was like the emotion had blanketed me comfortably.

"What is that?" I sighed again, my voice sounding calm and even.

"That, Bella," Laughed Emmett, "Is Jasper and his little gift."

"Gift?" I asked, my eyebrows raising as I gazed at Jasper lazily, he was wearing a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, sorry," Jasper said running his hands through his hair. "I can manipulate emotions, I probably should have mentioned that the last time I calmed you down."

"What does that mean exactly?" I said, my curiousness aroused by the new information. I unfolded my arms and let them relax by my sides.

"Well, I can feel emotions, like the frustration you were just feeling, I can also send out emotions to counter them, I'm what's known as an empath."

"Is that normal?" I asked, immediately regretting the way I'd worded the question. "I mean, having a gift, do vampires normally have gifts?"

Jasper smiled at the question. "It's not normal, but it's not uncommon. My wife, Alice, for example, can see the future through decisions. That's how we found you, when one of you decided to go to New York, we knew we would find you. So we waited for the perfect time, when we could get you alone. Edward, on the other hand, can read minds."

I could feel what little color I had draining from my face, it was no wonder the guy had run. I was trying to remember what I had been thinking that one day in biology when I realized I would be sat next to him. I couldn't remember exactly what had gone through my mind, but I knew it was embarrassing.

"Was that why he left? He saw something in my mind that he didn't like?" I asked, hoping that I'd finally hit the answer.

Jasper and Emmett looked at one another, their gazes were locked in what looked like a silent conversation.

"Not exactly," Emmett muttered. Jasper shot him a glacial stare.

I crossed my arms again, this time glaring at Jasper for stopping Emmett telling me what was going on. Jasper raised his eyebrows and sighed.

"You're the one exception." he said simply.

"To what?"

"Edward can't hear your thoughts, we're not sure why exactly, but you're like a blank canvas, you've locked him out somehow. He knew before he ever sat next to you in the biology class, he saw you across the cafeteria and tried to figure out what you were thinking, but there was nothing, even when you were sat next to him you were silent in your mind. I'm actually quite jealous" Jasper said relaxing the glare he'd had on Emmett.

As odd as the answer was, I felt relief, whatever I had thought that day hadn't been heard, it would save me some embarrassment when I finally saw him again.

As much relief as I felt, I was still curious as to why he'd left, from what Jasper had said, he wanted to tell me himself, that was all well and good, but I didn't think I would be able to face him again. I was nervous, what if I got the same reaction from him. What if his problem with me was still there?

The slow thud of panic grew inside of me, and it didn't take long for Jasper to catch on, he watched me curiously, it seemed now that I knew about his ability, I had to ask for his help when I wanted it. I nodded at him and almost instantaneously I felt relaxed. This time I grasped a hold of it and tried to stop thinking, it was getting me nowhere.

The darkness of the night flew by the windows as we drove, I sometimes wished for my vision to be as it had been when I was human, it was easier not to see everything sometimes. With my acute vision I could see everything as it was in the day, the only difference being the dark filling in the gaps between objects. The repetitive scenery of trees was growing monotonous, and the humming of the overly large tires on the asphalt was beginning to get hypnotic. I closed my eyes wishing I could sleep. It would stop the anticipation that was easting at me and when I opened my eyes again we would be there, no more waiting and over thinking things. I didn't sleep but I rode silently with my eyes closed for quite a while.

I was surprised when I finally opened my eyes. it seemed Emmett's driving had it's advantages, we were closing in on Fork's quickly, I could see the differences in the density of the forests, the smells became stronger with the dampness that seemed to shroud Washington state. I had almost expected the memories to come flooding back to me, but they didn't. The faded past stayed faded. Laurent had told me that after time your human life fades into the memories made as a vampire. He of all people knew, he'd been around since the seventeen hundreds, and remembered very little of his human life.

I was thankful that I could still remember my mother and father, I knew I could never see them again but I was comforted by their memories. I had so little memories of Charlie and I hated that I didn't get to know him better, even in the three months I lived with him. We'd had a good relationship, he knew I loved him and I knew that it was reciprocated, but it never needed to be said out loud, it was something both of us knew, but it didn't stop my regret for not telling him. Every day since my unofficial death I'd wished I could have told him how much he meant to me.

I hated that I had caused them so much pain, they believed I was dead, I couldn't even imagine what they had gone through, looking for my body, living through accepting I was gone, and worse burying an empty casket representing the body they couldn't find.

No matter how much it hurt I couldn't dwell on it, it would have my mind dancing in circles, and I would eventually lose the little sanity I was clinging to. Being in Forks would make it difficult, being so close to my father and not speaking with him would be painful, I was wondering if I'd made the right decision. I had, and I knew I had but the pain had a way of making me second guess everything I did.

We were still a couple of hours from Forks and Jasper and Emmett had fallen silent in the front of the Jeep, they were watching the road ahead of them thoughtfully.

"Jasper?" I whispered quietly.

I saw Emmett's eyes dart to the rearview mirror in curiosity and Jasper, once again, turned in his seat.

"Is my dad okay?" I asked gulping air at the anticipation of the answer.

Jasper shot at look at Emmett and my heart sunk, the dead heart in my chest ached at the look that was exchanged. Jasper's eyes shot to me, they were wide, I knew he was feeling the emotions that were drowning me.

"No, Bella, he's fine. It's not that at all . . . it's just, well . . . well, we helped in the search for you, the whole town did, he went through a difficult time, he blamed himself. Your mom also came to look but she left after a couple of days, in her grief she had blamed Charlie, and her guilt was eating at her. He was lost for a long time, didn't come out of the house for almost six months, but some of his friends came together to help him, and he eventually got better. He was able to get his job back, and . . ." Jasper looked at Emmett again for help.

My gaze followed his.

"Emmett?" I asked, hoping he would say what Jasper seemingly couldn't.

"He met someone, Bella." Emmett said just loud enough for me to hear.

Relief flooded me and I knew it wasn't with Jasper's help this time. I was truly happy for Charlie, he'd held on to the memory of Renee for so long, he'd never been able to move on. I let a smile dance across my lips, but Jasper and Emmett just looked at me, I knew there was more.

"What else aren't you telling me?" I asked.

"She's pregnant." Emmett said, his eyes were boring into me through the rear view, but I just laughed, I had mixed emotions but the two of them being this concerned about my feelings was a courtesy no one had extended to me in quite a while.

I thought about what this meant for a while, Charlie would be bringing up a child, not just during the Summer. h would be there for the baby's first steps, first words. I felt a small pang of jealousy inside me. I knew that I was being irrational, and the jealousy was unfounded but I couldn't stop the small aching that it brought with it. This child would get the best years from my father, they would grow up with him, something I'd never had the opportunity to do, Renee had left when I was so young and I'd had nothing but summers with him until a year ago.

"I'm glad." I sighed finally, Jasper and Emmett's cautious stares were wearing on me.

Jasper raised one eyebrow, I knew he could feel the jealousy raging inside me but I really was happy for my father, finally something was going right for him, I was hoping the new family would bring him the happiness he'd missed out on for the first seventeen years of my life, he'd been alone for too long.

The Jeep once again fell into a comfortable silence. I knew that Jasper and Emmett were limited on the information they could give me, so I tried to stop the questioning. I pulled my knees to my chest. I was going to have a brother or sister and they would never know me, I would be nothing but a memory to them, a faded photography that sat on the mantle. It hurt, more than I wanted to admit, but the excitement for my dad would wash that away eventually, I just needed time. Time would heal everything.

The aching got easier as we got closer to Forks, it wouldn't be long until we passed through the small town, the rain had already started, I had laughed at the welcoming. The small sign would be visible soon, my eyes danced around on the damp, dark road ahead of us, there is was 'Welcome to Forks' a small shudder ran down my spine.

We were here, we were in Forks.

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**A/N: This took me forever to write, so I'm sorry if it seemed longer. I actually got halfway through it and then deleted the whole thing because I didn't like the way it was turning out. I kind of like the way this one rolls by now, it got Bella to where I wanted her to be, and she'll finally get some answers . . .**

**Thank you for the Alerts and Faves, and thank you to you wonderful people who review . . . YOU GUYS ROCK!**

**Have a happy 4th, and be safe - BIG HUGZ -**


	6. Chapter 5 The Cullens

_**The Twilight Universe Belongs to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer. (28 Days till Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 5 - The Cullens**

Forks was dark, but I could see every defining line of the familiar buildings as we passed them. All of us were silent now, the conversation had quieted and the anticipation was palpable.

Emmett and Jasper seemed excited at their return and I wondered how long they'd been following us.

We continued through town and reached the other side quickly, I didn't know where they were taking me, but I trusted them enough to not question them. The street lights had ended with the edge of the town and we were back in the darkness.

It wasn't long until we turned off the road altogether, the turning they had taken was hidden and I would never have seen it, if I'd attempted to find it on my own. The road was nestled neatly within a line of trees and was flanked on either side by more of Washington's natural beauty. The road twisted through the trees comfortably, it didn't take Emmett long to get to his destination, he'd practically tripled his speed since turning onto the smaller road.

The Jeep pulled into a cavernous garage filled with some of the most beautiful cars I'd ever seen, I couldn't put names to some of them, but it didn't stop the awe. Emmett finally came to a stop next to a red convertible, the paint job was just as articulately taken care of as the Jeep's was.

"Beautiful, isn't it." Emmett said watching me admire the car. "It's a BMW, M3, it belongs to my wife, Rosalie."

I smiled at him. "Yes, beautiful certainly seems like the perfect description." I said as I slipped past the front seat and hopped out of the Jeep to the concrete below.

It felt good to finally be out of the vehicle, I hadn't sat that still in a long time, and the restraints that had held me in place hadn't given me much room to move. I took a deep breath and looked between Jasper and Emmett. This was it, I would be meeting the rest of their family. The idea of meeting them was becoming more daunting the closer I got to it and, the idea of seeing Edward again sent a wave of mixed emotions through me that had Jasper eyeing me strangely.

I knew that I was nervous, who wouldn't be, I was being lead to a group of five vampires, all of which were a complete mystery to me. Emmett could see the hesitation as he turned to make sure I was ready.

"It'll be fine, Bella." he said encouragingly.

"I know," I tried to say confidently, but it came out as a small squeaking.

"Bella, I know this has to be hard, but each of our family is intrigued and looking forward to meeting you. You really have nothing to worry about." Jasper said with a small laugh.

I nodded and took a deep breath, Emmett took this as the okay to continue, and took a step forward. Jasper stayed by my side and kept pace with me. I knew he was throwing some confidence at me, but I certainly wasn't complaining, I needed all the help I could get.

We crossed a grassy field to a large white house, it was three storeys and sat in the middle of the meadow, the warmth and regal nobility of it made me feel insignificant.

I stopped at the bottom of the porch steps as Emmett and Jasper continued forward. Jasper was the first to notice my absence.

"Bella?" he asked.

I couldn't say a thing to him, I was afraid my voice would crack if I attempted to push out the words. I shook my head and took a deep breath then headed up the steps slowly.

Emmett opened the door and stepped inside, the warm light washed over me, it was a deep contrast to the darkness outside, it was almost comforting to me. From what I could see of the interior, the house was beautifully decorated, but the most predominant thing was the grand piano sat on a raised part of the floor, overshadowed only by the grand staircase.

Before Jasper and I got in the house, a raven haired beauty jumped into his arms and kissed him gently, he held onto her tightly and the smile on his face told me he couldn't have been happier about the welcome. The girl giggled as he planted a gentle kiss on her neck, and then she turned to face me. She stepped out of Jasper's embraced and towards me.

"You must be Bella. I'm Alice." she said beaming, her raven black hair was short and spiky but beautifully styled, her clothes were stylish and fit her small physique well. She was shorter than me, but her grace and elegance was intimidating.

"Hi, Alice." I whispered with a smile. I held out my hand to shake hers but she bypassed it and pulled me into tight embrace. I felt relaxed and welcome with her gesture, the prospect of meeting the rest of them didn't seem so daunting to me now, especially if they were all like Alice.

"Oh, excuse my manners, Bella, please come inside." She said taking my hand and guiding me the rest of the way into the house.

The rest of the interior was as breathtaking as the little I had seen from the porch, it was all so open and airy, the pastel colors, and furniture made it look more like a model home not one occupied by seven vampires. The back wall of the house that looked out onto the river was completely made of glass, the Olympic range could be seen easily.

Alice guided me into the living room where the rest of the family was waiting, Emmett already had his arms wrapped around the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had flowing blond hair and the most gorgeous features I had ever seen, I vaguely remembered her from the cafeteria the many times I had peered across to their table, but this close she was even more beautiful.

"Bella, this is my wife, Rosalie." Emmett beamed proudly.

I smiled shyly, Rosalie's beauty was intimidating, I felt shabby simply standing in the same room with her. Rosalie gave me a small polite smile.

Alice pulled me until I was standing in front of a handsome blond man, he looked like someone pulled directly from Hollywood, except exceptionally more handsome. Next to him, was a beautiful woman with honey colored hair and a heart-shaped face, she had kind eyes and a warm smile, I immediately felt comfortable around her.

"Bella, this is our father Carlisle, and our mother, Esme." Alice said happily.

Carlisle's warm smile flooded his features as he stepped forward with his hand out stretched.

"Bella, it's so good to finally meet you, I hope Jasper and Emmett kept you comfortable on your journey here."

"They did, thank you. In fact they were more than kind." I said turning to smile at the two of them.

Emmett winked, a grin plastered happily on his face, and Jasper bowed his head to me.

"Oh, Bella, I am so happy to finally meet you." Esme sighed contentedly, her soft calming voice matched her maternal demeanor well. "I've been quite concerned, I hope you haven't been through too much."

I smiled at her regard, it was nice having someone concerned about my well being. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and thank her for accepting me into her home, but I stopped myself.

"Thank you, Esme. You have a beautiful home." I added.

Esme simply nodded and Alice pulled me away from them, I had one person left to meet, and I knew that this would be him, my stomach flipped inside me and I felt the nerves eating at me again.

"And this, Bella, is Edward." Alice sang gently, pushing me closer to him. I heard something in her voice as she introduced us, I wasn't sure what it meant or what she was implying but I didn't have time to really process it.

I looked up into his golden eyes and my breath stopped coming to me, his bronze hair fell lightly onto his handsome features, he was even more beautiful than I remembered. I couldn't take my eyes from his, he held my gaze, a small smile danced on the corner of his lips. His pale skin was the most beautiful I had ever seen, even in our kind.

I pulled in a deep breath and with it, his scent hit me. If I'd have been human, I was sure I would have passed out at his feet, he was overwhelming. There were no words to describe the smell, it was heaven, and I had a feeling I would never get used to it.

"Hello, Bella." he said in a velvet voice that sent a shiver down my spine. This was definitely Edward Cullen, I had lost all of my senses and my mind had lost it's train of thought, all I wanted to do in that instant was reach out and touch him, but I held myself back, I didn't want to make a complete fool of myself.

"Hi, Edward," I whispered quietly, "It's nice to see you again."

Edward's face broke into a crooked grin that melted my heart, it traveled all the way to his eyes and made them sparkle slightly in the light. I felt dazzled by him. I was useless.

"Bella," Esme's voice broke my fixation, "I'm sure you'd like to shower and change before we talk. Alice can take you to your room, if you'd like."

I looked from Esme to Alice, who was practically trembling with excitement. I smiled and nodded. The hospitality of this family was staggering, a large wave of affection filled me, but it came directly from me, I had gotten used to Jasper's help and the way it made me feel, but this was different, it was my emotion, and it came straight from my unbeating heart.

I nodded and glanced at Jasper, who I knew would feel the emotion I was emitting. I hoped he would relay the message so they would all know how I felt and just how much I appreciated their welcome.

Alice pulled me to the stairs, and as fast as our legs would carry us we headed up the them, we bypassed the second floor completely and carried on to the third. Alice directed me to a door that was second to the last and threw it open, it was a beautifully decorated room, everything seemed to be decorated in a rich shade of blue, but everything in there was feminine in every way. There wasn't much to it furniture wise but there was a large overstuffed couch against one of the walls that looked almost irresistible.

Alice continued pulling me into the middle of the room and stopped. "What do you think, I hope you don't mind the colors, we decorated it when we knew you were coming."

I was stunned into silence. They had decorated a room for me? They'd known I'd come back with Emmett and Jasper and made it as comfortable for me as they could. I looked around at some of the things that had been placed in the room, every detail seemed to reflect my personality perfectly.

"How?" I asked smiling down at the beautiful woman stood next to me.

"Let's just call it woman's intuition." she smiled happily. "Now, as for clothes I guessed you were about a size two as a human, so I estimated a size one now, would that be right?" she asked looking me over.

I nodded again, words had eluded me completely now. Alice clapped her petite hands happily and took my hand again. She threw open a door that sat neatly in the wall and flicked on a light switch inside of it. It was practically brimming with clothes.

"Okay, so I know you probably like picking out your own clothes, but once I started I couldn't stop. You have such a lovely body shape, you could be a model with those lines and curves, and once I get started there is no stopping me, but if there's anything I've forgotten, let me know and I can get it for you."

I looked around the closet carefully, and actually began to wonder how much these people knew about me, next to some of the most beautiful shoes I had ever seen laid a pair of converse. They were the most perfect things I could have seen at that moment.

"Alice, thank you, really, but you shouldn't have. This is too much." I said squeezing the hand she was still clinging to.

"It's nothing, Bella." she giggled happily. She seemed pleased at my reaction. "I'll leave you alone now, but if you need anything just call me."

"Thanks, Alice."

The two of us headed out of the closet and Alice headed towards the door, she turned around and grinned at me. "If you want to take a shower, the bathrooms in there." she pointed to another door in the room. "The towels can be found in the linen closet."

I giggled at her excitement and nodded, I could see myself being good friends with her, I wasn't really one to make friends easily, but Alice made it impossible to not like her. Friendship would be inevitable.

Alice disappeared from the room leaving me feeling utterly overwhelmed. I sighed and headed towards the bathroom, it would buy me a little time before I had to sit and speak with the Cullens. As much as I wanted to get to the truth, the thought of sitting in front of the seven of them was a little intimidating.

I stayed in the shower for a while, I had the water as hot as it would go and it felt wonderful as it ran down my cold skin. I didn't really notice the change in my temperature all that much until I encountered something warm. The shampoo Alice had provided me with was similar to the one I had used, it smelt like strawberries.

I stepped out of the shower into the steamy room and made my way to the bedroom. The room was so inviting I just wanted to lay on the couch and close my eyes. In twenty four hours my whole life had changed. It seemed to be for the better, but it didn't make it any easier to process, I'd always been such a creature of habit. Change always needed an adjustment period.

After I was dressed I wandered around the room looking at some of the things that had been placed in it for my comfort. There were some shelves in the corner that held a variety of books, some were familiar to me, but some I'd never even heard of. I ran my fingers along the spines carefully, my eyes dancing across the titles as my fingers passed over the lettering.

A light tap at the door pulled my attention from the books. "Come in," I called gently.

The door opened and the last person I had expected, strolled into my room. It was Edward. I smiled weakly at him and waited for him to speak. His eyes met mine and I once again felt the tingling in the pit of my stomach. I could believe the effect this man had on me.

"Bella," Edward's smooth voice washed over me.

"Edward," I repeated in greeting.

"I just wanted to know if you were ready to talk, there's no hurry." he said smiling.

I couldn't refuse this man anything, he'd bewitched me and the thought of it scared me.

"Sure." I mumbled heading towards the couch and perching on the edge.

Edward moved across the room quickly and gracefully, he took a seat next to me on the couch, seemingly struggling for words.

"I feel like I should explain myself, I know that the last time we met, if you could even call it that, my behavior was . . . _strange_, to say the least."

I nodded and looked down at my hands, I felt embarrassed, I was sure he was going to tell me something that made me feel more awkward than I already did. Instead, Edward leaned towards me and placed a finger under my chin, a surge of sparks ran throughout my body from his touch, I tried to keep my thoughts coherent as he lifted my chin gently until our eyes met.

"It was nothing you did, Bella. This is so much easier for me to explain now, considering that you suffer the same urges I do. I'm sure you're more than aware of you're need for human blood."

I nodded at him and my brow creased a little. The thirst I possessed wasn't something I was proud of, but it was inescapable.

"Well, when you sat next to me, all I could smell was your blood, but it was so much sweeter than anything I've ever come across. I couldn't resist it, it was as though the urge had multiplied. I wanted you more than I could possibly imagine. It was pure hell getting through that class, and I went through a thousand ways to lure you out of that classroom, when we finally got out, I sat in my car trying to forget the smell, it was so predominant in my thoughts that I had to make sure I was never in your path again, I really didn't want to hurt you but the draw was too strong. When I went to see if I could change classes and put some distance between us you came into the office, and all of my coherent thoughts left me and the urges returned. I didn't understand it at all." Edward looked ashamed and embarrassed, his eyes wore his emotions as he looked at me honestly.

'I don't understand," I whispered, my skin was aching for his touch again but my mind was focused solely on his words. "If it was so difficult for you, and your thirst was a great as you say it was, why would you have avoided me? Left me alive?"

Edward smiled warmly and lent forward, his hand brushed the two of mine that were gathered neatly in my lap. My skin reacted instantaneously and a surge of electricity ran through me, I looked in his eyes and the curiousness that radiated from them told me he'd felt it too.

I tried to break eye contact but he was the one that succeeded, he looked past me to the window before he continued.

"Bella, we don't drink human blood, we've abstained from that life and found an alternative that suits us well." he said, his eyes avoiding mine at all costs.

"How? The people I was with said there was no alternative." I could feel the guilt surging through me again, I had killed unnecessarily, I had taken human lives, I was a murderer, a monster that had destroyed not just my victims lives but their families too, they had brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, children.

"We drink from animals, large game mostly, it gives us sustenance and eases the thirst ." he said quietly waiting for my reaction. The look he was wearing told me he was waiting for the explosion of emotions to pour from me.

I stood up and walked to the wall made of glass, I wrapped my arms around myself and stared out into the wilderness, my conscience was eating at me with an '_I told you so_' and I tried to hold back the sobs that threatened to break me. One of my hands covered my mouth trying to muffle the moan that threatened to escape.

Edward didn't move, he sat as still as a statue on the couch, his eyes full of concern. Thankfully there were no tears to give away my feelings. I stood at the window for what felt like a lifetime, but my thoughts were interrupted by another soft knock at my door.

I didn't move or say a word, I couldn't, I was barely keeping control of my emotions as it was. Edward stood quietly and headed towards the door, I watched his reflection in the glass in front of me. He pulled the door open quietly and there, behind the door, stood Alice and Jasper. From the looks on their faces they were mentally reprimanding him, the concentration and stares gave away their annoyance. Having the ability to read minds must be hell when you're being blamed for something you had no power over.

"Please," I whispered, my voice sounded strangled. "You can't blame Edward for this, I . . ." My voice broke off and I took a deep breath before continuing. "I was naive to believe James, I should have known better. This is all my guilt, this was my sin. Edward has nothing to do with this, he simply told me the truth."

Alice looked to Jasper and he nodded stepping into the room, he approached me quietly and I closed my eyes in surrender, as much as I deserved to feel this pain I selfishly wanted it eased, my guilt could be easily removed with Jasper's help, but my conscience wouldn't be so easily facilitated.

Jasper stopped behind me and rested one hand on my shoulder. A large surge of serenity filled me and the pain dulled quietly into the back of my psyche.

"Thanks," I said almost inaudibly.

"You're welcome, Bella." Jasper whispered as he stepped away.

I didn't move from my spot at the window, the serenity Jasper had given me was working it's magic and I didn't want to lose that feeling just yet. In the window I saw Edward and Jasper leave silently. Alice stayed.

"Bella," she whispered, she sounded nervous. "Please, don't blame yourself. Most of us have done what you have been doing, lived the way you have been over this past year. Carlisle was the one who helped us, and even now some of us make mistakes. It's in our nature, it's what we are." She moved forward until she was stood next to me. She rested one of her small hands on my arm. "It's amazing how easily you abstain from feeding, Jasper tells me that you feed once a month. As young as you are to this life, you show amazing control."

I rolled my head so my eyes met hers. I gave her a weak smile. I appreciated that she was trying to make me feel better. She smiled warmly at me and threw her arm around my waist. Without any more thought I rested my cheek on the top of her head.

The two of us stood gazing out of the window, the light was playing behind the mountains deciding whether or not to make an appearance, and the rain was falling as a soft mist. I knew I would have to talk to the Cullens soon, but I was thankful for the small amount of time I had to collect myself, and was glad that this hadn't been dropped on me in front of the seven of them.

"Alice?" I said quietly, lifting my head.

"Yes, Bella?"

"Your eyes, is that because of your diet?" I asked simply.

"Yes, the slight difference in the blood creates a different reaction, we're not entirely sure why, but it makes it a little easier to live amongst humans."

"How long before it takes affect?" I asked.

Alice giggled at my question. "It takes over in time, after a couple of feedings, the red fades and is replaced with the warm gold. It'll be a lot quicker now you have passed your first year. You have no more of your own blood in your system."

"I can't believe I killed those people for nothing." I sighed sounding my fears.

"You have a good heart Bella, I like that in you, the little time I have spent with you has made that easy to see. It's made all the more apparent by your guilt, but we are what we are, you didn't know any different. The coven you traveled with had misguided you, you didn't know any better, you can't blame yourself for that." she sighed.

"You say that, but my first kill came after I had starved myself for a week, I could smell the blood in the animals surrounding us, yet I took the man they gave me without thought, if I'd have tried, if . . ."

"Bella, if's are in the past, you can't change that now. Now your have the knowledge, and the future, use it, and with time you'll forgive yourself. You are the only one here judging your past, each of us have gone through the emotions and regrets your feeling, but we were given the knowledge and the chance to redeem ourselves and we took it, just like you are. Don't do this to yourself." she said with such conviction I had no choice but to smile at her and wrap my arms around her tiny frame.

'Thanks, Alice." I whispered into her hair

"Your welcome, do you think you're ready to join the others now?" she asked hopefully.

I nodded and released her from my grip, she took my hand again and guided me from the room.

The Cullens were congregated in the living room, waiting for my appearance. Alice smiled at me and handed me a hair tie, I took that as a sign my hair hadn't dried well and pulled it back into a messy pony tail.

I received smiles from every one of the Cullens, they sat coupled together and Alice made no exception when we entered the room. She squeezed my hand encouragingly before dropping it and heading towards Jasper, she crawled into his lap and was graced with a kiss from him.

I looked around the room and realized I was left with two options in seating. The floor or next to Edward.

I was worried that he may be insulted if I sat on the floor, so I took the seat next to Edward. He smiled apologetically at me, but I gave him the warmest smile I could, hoping he would see if for what is was.

"Do you feel better, Bella?" Esme asked smiling at me warmly.

"Yes, thank you, Esme." I sighed amazed at how even my voice had come out.

"I'm glad." she said sighing and relaxing back into Carlisle's embrace.

"Before I explain why we came looking for you, Bella. Do you have any questions for us?" Carlisle asked me directly.

I had plenty of questions for them, but I was hoping they would all be answered in this revelation. I shook my head and relaxed into the comfortable couch.

"Well, I'm sure Edward has explained why he left," Carlisle started. I nodded and smiled at Edward, we hadn't covered everything, but his reasoning made a little more sense to me now. I imagined we'd continue the conversation in the future.

"Well, when he left he went to a coven similar to ours, they live in Denali, Alaska. Their feeding habits are the same so the transition was easy for him. He was gone a lot longer than we anticipated so we made a decision to go to him on the weekends. By the time Alice saw the small coven passing through it was too late to get here in time. We had to hope they wouldn't feed in the area, but there was no way of stopping them if they did. Alice saw them come in contact with you, but she couldn't see the outcome, something was blocking it." Carlisle said throwing Alice a supportive smile.

"We hurried back as quickly as we could, but it was too late. The scene had been set and your father had begun the search. We used all of our resources, hoping to find you before you were taken but your scent disappeared a little north of the Canadian border, we're guessing it was maybe the point you took a car. The change in your smell had alerted us to the fact that you had been converted by the three you were traveling with." Carlisle stooped and looked at Edward before continuing.

"When we returned home we were confronted about your disappearance, it seems the friend that had stumbled on the attack that day was a werewolf, and that was, consequentially, why Alice couldn't see the outcome." Carlisle said quietly.

My breath caught in my throat and I looked around the room waiting for the laughs to come, I was sure Carlisle had been joking. But each Cullen wore the same blank mask. It seemed werewolves were real, and Jacob Black was one of them.

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**A/N: I know, I I kinda left you hanging there, but the conversation will become more detailed in the next chapter. They are heavy with dialogue and I hope I stayed to true to the characters SM has painted for you. I apologize about not updating sooner but, I had family visiting and there was no escape lol!**

**Thank you for all the alerts and faves, and to all of you who REVIEWED . . . THANK YOU, YOU ROCK, you make it a pleasure to write. -Big hugz to you all until the next chapter. - L**


	7. Chapter 6 Werewolves

_**All Things Twilight belong to the awesome Stephenie Meyer**_

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**Chapter 6 - Werewolves**

The fact that werewolves existed wasn't what shocked me, the fact that Jacob Black was a werewolf, knocked me into oblivion.

"He's so young," I muttered, I knew it was an asinine comment but I had muttered it more to myself than the seven vampires who were watching me intently.

"Yes, I would agree with that, but it seems the violence that he had walked up on had accelerated the process. He was fortunate that one of his pack was close by, they were able to calm him down and explain what had happened to him. The delay saved your life."

I sat silently as the Cullen's exchanged looks amongst themselves, there was something they were hesitant to tell me, I could tell by their actions. When they were being blatantly honest they were relaxed and eager to talk to me, but when they were afraid of my reactions, they looked to one another for support. I wasn't sure what it was but I knew that it was significant.

"Saved _my_ life?" I asked, impatient for answers.

"Werewolves and vampires are natural enemies, Bella. You had been bitten, the venom would have changed your scent almost immediately. When it hit's your bloodstream and the pain begins, it's too late, you have already begun the process. Being a young werewolf, he could have followed his instincts and killed you along with the ones that changed you." Carlisle answered gently.

"Why didn't he then?" I asked hesitantly.

"The change took him by surprise, and by the time he had collected himself the vampires had taken you across the treaty line. He didn't realize this and moved to follow, but the Alpha of the pack stopped him."

"There's a pack of Wolves?" I asked.

"Yes, most people who hear the Quileute legends, believe they're just that, legends. But some are true, just as their tales of the cold ones are true. The gene has been passed down from generation to generation, and the wolves appear when needed."

"So all the Quileute kids transform into Wolves?" I asked still a little apprehensive about what I was hearing.

"No," said Carlisle smiling at me, "Just direct descendants of the original wolves."

I sat back into the couch and pulled my knees to my chest, no one in the room said a word as I contemplated what I had just heard. Werewolves, enemies, packs. It all seemed so surreal.

I was a vampire, something I had once considered a mythical creature created from the mind of some twisted author. Legends and myths should seem all the more tangible to me, but I was still having trouble grasping the concept. The thought of hidden battle lines and animosity between these two species made it all the more difficult to process. It also seemed to bring another wave of questions to me.

"I have a question." I said resting my chin on my knees and looking directly at Carlisle.

"Okay," Carlisle answered smiling reassuringly.

"If the werewolves are our natural enemy, why would they confront you about my disappearance?" I asked finally putting the some of the pieces together.

"Jacob." Was the answer I received from Carlisle.

"What about him?" I asked missing what they were trying to tell me.

"Bella, Jacob saw what happened to you, he's also aware of our diet, he knew that they had taken you and was sure they kept you alive and let the venom take it's course. Alice was able to confirm that. He knew that the vampires that had taken you fed from humans, your attack had been proof enough of that, and he refused to let you live that way because it would be the wolves job to kill you if you ever came back. When we began tracking you it was under the intention of speaking to you alone, but when the coven discovered we were tracking you, they decided to confront us and bring you back to Forks. It made the task of getting to you all the more urgent. If you had arrived in Forks with that Coven, the wolves would have been forced to kill you." Edward said softly.

I turned my head to look at his handsome face. I wasn't sure of my expression but Edward's face softened. My skin tingled at the gesture.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but you're safe with us, we can help you." he said in a soothing tone.

Something occurred to me, why were the Cullen's so willing to help me? It wasn't that I didn't appreciate their kindness but the reasoning behind it eluded me, why had they agreed to help me, this wasn't their mistake, why did they care if I lived or died?

"Why?" was the only word I could think to say. I wasn't sure how to word the question without sound ungrateful.

Each of the Cullen's looked at me curiously, it seemed they hadn't understood the context of the question, I had to find a way to word it a little better.

"Why did you want to help the wolves? Why did you want to help me? I certainly appreciate everything you've done for me, but I can't understand the motivation. I'm really not trying to offend you. But why would you chose to help me?" I said, my voice growing gravelly with emotion.

Esme and Alice smiled at me, the rest of the Cullen's sat with the same smooth expressions as they had before.

"Bella, I'm sure you're aware of my gift," Alice said, her smile still in place. "After our discussion with the wolves, I looked for you. When I found you I saw something, which made me search a little deeper. The future is determined by the decisions we make, in our decision to find you, I saw that you would be an intricate part of this family. It all would have changed if you had refused to leave with Jasper and Emmett, but you didn't and it's set off the course of the future. I refuse to say anymore than that to anybody because if I meddle it could alter the course you're naturally taking, and if you continue down the path knowing, you'll always wonder whether it was simply because I had set it in motion."

"I don't understand," I said looking around at the faces that filled the room.

"It seems that you were meant to come to us, there are things I see in the future. . ." Alice stopped and tried to compose her thoughts. It seemed she didn't want to say too much. "The future can change with one small decision, every decision we have made since you have joined us has kept this same path. It can be changed so easily, but I want you to make your decisions because you have them in front of you, not because it's what I saw happening."

Edward made a small hiss from beside me, before I turned to look at him I saw a small smile play on Alice's lips, there was a silent conversation passing between them. Edward rolled his eyes before turning to smile apologetically at me.

I didn't quite understand the reasoning, even with Alice's vague explanation, but I dropped it. Whatever the reason was behind saving me, I was indebted to them, and would be eternally grateful.

"Alice, are James and the others still coming?" I asked, seeing as Alice could see what would happen through decisions I figured she would have seen their decision to either follow or turn around and leave.

Alice looked to Carlisle before answering, Carlisle gave her a subtle nod to let her continue. "Bella, they know you came to us, they picked up the three scents in the forest. They will come, but the wolves will be waiting."

I nodded in understanding, "Then there's something I should probably tell you." I whispered.

All heads turned in my direction and I could feel myself shrinking into my seat. I had known of Victoria and James talents for a while. They didn't know that I possessed that knowledge, but I had overheard them speaking one evening. They'd thought I was out hunting but I had returned early without their knowledge.

"James and Victoria have gifts," I said looking around the room, "They're in no way as extraordinary as yours are, but they come in useful in sticky situations. James is a tracker, highly skilled, he can track pretty much anyone and has failed only once. Victoria, has an ability to avoid certain situations, I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I know it's there. They never told me about this, I overheard them speaking. I thought you should know. Especially seeing as they already know about the wolves. I'm sure they knew the line that stopped them the last time."

The Cullen's exchanged glances with one another. They hadn't factored in the last encounter James and the others had had with the wolves and the treaty line.

"Well it seems we have two choices here," Emmett said with a grin, "We let the wolves cross the treaty line, or we fight."

Rosalie let a small hiss pass through her teeth, and glared at her husband with such a force I was once again shrinking in my seat. Emmett seemed to just laugh it off.

"Emmett, must you always look for a fight?" Esme sighed, looking at her son affectionately.

Emmett simply laughed again, his jovial nature made it impossible to be angry at him. Rosalie's glare changed to an eye roll as his laughing continued.

"I think we should speak with the wolves about it." Carlisle said thoughtfully, "I think they need to be aware of the situation and make their own decision before we make any plans ourselves. Alice, how long until they arrive?"

Alice sat quietly with an intense look of concentration, Jasper stroked her arm gently as we waited. It seemed like a while passed before she finally refocused her eyes. Edward chuckled quietly under his breath. My eyes darted to him quickly, lingered for a second longer than they should and then landed back on Alice, who looked frustrated.

"They'll be here within the week, I can't exactly when they arrive because they keep changing directions. Bella was right, they remember the line, they just don't know where it is. They're taking a detour."

Carlisle raised his eyebrows at Alice, he knew there was something she was leaving out, it was obviously what was frustrating her.

"Occasionally they disappear." She pouted.

Emmett laughed again and Rosalie slapped him gently on the arm.

"Occasionally?" asked Carlisle.

"Some of the paths they take lead them straight into the wolves trap, but the other brings them straight here. They have two plans at the moment and continually flip flop between the two of them. I can't be certain which they'll take yet, but if we make the decision to let the wolves across the line, I won't see what happens at all."

Carlisle sighed. "Which means there is a possibility they could make it past the wolves and we would never know until it was too late."

"I'm not sure, I seem to be able to see what's coming as long as there's no direct contact with the wolves, I believe that they only disappear when they interact."

We sat in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I knew James and Victoria well, they wouldn't give up until they had me, or at the very least killed me. They thought of me as one of their possessions and after my choice to leave with the Cullen's, I should have known they would never give up. James had threatened to track me if I ever attempted to run, I didn't know why me leaving with Jasper and Emmett would have been any different. It was a lapse of judgment on my part, I had placed the Cullen's and Jacob in danger.

I was distracted by Edward leaning towards me, his breath was tickling my ear. "What are you thinking?" he asked, I knew I was the only one to hear him because with his mouth as close to my ear as it was, his voice was barely audible.

I turned to look at him but it was a mistake. our faces were closer than I could have ever imagined, his golden eyes were imploring me to talk to him, and I found myself unable to tell him anything but the truth.

"I've put you all in danger, your entire family, Jacob and his pack. I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you." I said almost as quietly as he'd asked.

"Bella," he said pulling back a little from me. "This is not your fault, they would have come regardless. You were headed in this direction with them. Alice has seen something, she won't share it with any of us, but nobody bets against Alice. If she believes it's your place to be here, no one will question it." Edward grinned crookedly at me, I felt my stomach attempt gymnastics as I gazed at him. "Just to reassure you, ever one of my families thoughts towards you are welcoming, if you could hear what they thought, you would realize just how welcome you are."

I smiled at him, wishing I could hear his thoughts. As much as I had enjoyed his family so far, it was his approval I was seeking.

"Bella," Carlisle's voice pulled me away from my thoughts of Edward. "Are you ready to meet with the wolves?"

I looked to Edward again, and wondered how evident the panic in my eyes was. I would have enjoyed seeing Jacob again, this past year had been difficult not knowing what had happened to him, but I was afraid to meet him a his enemy. We'd been on the verge of a close friendship and it was ripped away from us.

Every eye in the room was on me waiting for my decision. I knew I would have to face Jacob eventually and I was sure sooner would be better than later. I nodded.

Each of them smiled at me sympathetically, it was going to be difficult, there was no doubt about that, everyone from my former life believed I was dead, Jacob was the only exception. He was the only one who knew that Vampires existed.

Alice was the first to move, she was immediately on her feet and by my side, she pulled me up into a hug before dragging me towards the stairs.

"Alice," I said following as quickly as I could, "Where are we going?"

"To change, we can't have your debut as a vampire wearing jeans and a t-shirt." She laughed as we hit the third floor.

"Alice." I laughed. "Does it really matter?"

Alice stopped and spun to face me, her face was serious and her topaz eyes burned into me. "Of course it matters, Bella. We need the wolves to know that we're looking after you, and Jacob needs to know that you're happy to be with us. It'll make the transition easier and quite frankly, you'll look gorgeous doing it." she added with a smile.

I laughed at the small woman but continued to follow her, it seemed she could be a force of nature, so I went with it.

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**A/N: I know two days and a super short Chapter whats up with that right! well the long weekend took it's toll so things should be getting back to normal tomorrow, I have some big plans for the next chapter. This chapter was pretty heavy on dialogue, I think that's why it's so short. Bella and Edward . . . I promise soon ;0)**

**thanks for all of the alerts and Faves and to the REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS ROCK, Thank you so much for all of your awesomeness. **

**BIG HUGZ - L**


	8. Chapter 7 Jacob Black

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesomely Talented Stephenie Meyer. (25 Days till Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 7 - Jacob Black**

By the time Alice had finished, I looked like a model about to take the catwalk, she was incorrigible, I didn't have a chance to complain she worked so quickly. She dressed me in a pair of Jeans that were so tight they could have been painted on me and a midnight blue top that hugged the curves I had developed in my transition.

It was the first time I had looked in the mirror and noticeably seen the distinct change in my appearance, I was stunned to say the least. She had accented every one of my features and my hair was pulled up into a stylishly messy ponytail.

"My work is done here," laughed Alice when she noticed I was examining myself in the mirror.

I smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "Thanks, Alice."

Alice's smile amplified at my gratitude, it seemed that my approval made it all the better for her. The woman was a genius, I could never have pulled something like this off on my own, but she seemed to have an eye for what would work. The color of the shirt made my almost black irises unnoticeable, and it highlighted my ivory skin to make it look almost natural rather than ghostly as it usually appeared.

"You ready?" Alice asked me gently, I think she had an idea of how difficult this was for me.

"As I'll ever be." I admitted.

"It shouldn't be too bad, we're all coming with you, so if you need any support, we'll be there for you."

I grinned at her, my first inclination that we would be friends was turning out to be more true than I had ever conceived. Alice was simply the most infectious person I'd ever met, and I'd known her for less than twenty-four hours. Alice clapped her small hands happily, and I watched her curiously.

"What?" I asked mystified at her outburst.

"I think we'll be good friends too." she laughed.

I wondered if I'd ever get used to her knowing things without me opening my mouth, it was a little eerie at times.

"I'm glad you changed you're mind though," she said her smile fading.

I looked at her again wondering exactly what she was referring to.

"Oh, don't think I didn't see you trying to sacrifice yourself to save us, I saw it as soon as you made the decision. You were going to run off and meet them to save us all the trouble." she said raising her eyebrows. "I'm just glad you changed your mind, I didn't want to have to chase you."

I'd been trying to decide what to do the entire time I had been sat at the vanity in her cavernous bathroom, oblivious to her watching my decisions flicker. It would definitely take some getting used to, but I was glad she'd let me settle on a decision before commenting.

"I don't think I could have ever gone through with it," I admitted, "I just hate to see you all suffer for your kindness."

Alice sighed and wrapped her arm around my waist. "You worry too much, Bella. Just give us a chance, I know you'll be happy here."

I laughed and retrieved my arm from her shoulder, "We'd better go, I can't put this off any longer." I sighed.

"It'll be fine." Alice laughed as she picked up my hand and pulled me from the room.

Alice and I made it down the stairs quickly, it seemed Alice had an inability to take her time at anything, she was always full speed ahead. If I'd have met her when I was human I was sure she would have worn me out.

The rest of the family were still in the living room, I entered with trepidation, I had never worn anything remotely like this in my life and I wasn't sure at the reaction I would get. I had no need to worry though, the Cullen's seemed to have the same reaction that I'd had upon Alice's revelation. Esme and Rosalie smiled at me, they both seemed to appreciate Alice's ability and by their casual, but fashionable attire, I was sure their tastes were just as exquisite as Alice's. Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper simply smiled at me, if I could have blushed I would have been scarlet, but it was Edward that caught my eye. His entire face was lit up and there was a look I couldn't distinguish playing on his features. His eyes roamed over me stopping abruptly when they met mine.

"Bella, you look . . . beautiful." he said softly.

I could feel the smile on my lips before I had time to truly process the words, Edward Cullen had just called me beautiful. Words I never thought I would hear from him. He'd paid me the highest compliment and I was stood in the middle of the room with a goofy smile on my face.

"Thanks," I mumbled shyly, once I recovered.

I tried to break the contact with his eyes, he was captivating to me, I had to break the gaze before I was lost completely. However, Edward was the one to successfully look away, he looked directly at Alice. She had a radiant smile playing on her lips and I realized something she had been thinking had pulled Edward's attention away from me.

"Are you ready, Bella?" Carlisle asked, trying to hide a smile. It seemed that the look Edward had given Alice wasn't unusual and the unspoken conversation was a normality in this family's everyday life.

I nodded slowly and allowed myself to be guided by Alice. Guided away from Edward, from the one moment we'd had. In my chest it felt like my heart had begun beating again it fluttered gently giving me the warmest sensation. Next to me, Alice simply giggled.

The ride down to the treaty line was quiet, I had been stunned into silence, and the Cullen's that I was riding with assumed that I was nervous. I was fine with the assumption, it was less embarrassing than the truth. It seemed that my silence was contagious. Alice, Jasper and Carlisle were silent for the duration. We were in Carlisle's Mercedes, I welcomed the dark tint on the windows and the silence of the smooth car as it made it's way east. No one could see in, this was a good thing considering the entire town of Forks, Washington thought I was dead, and had been for over a year. If they saw me it would cause a lot of confusion, confusion that no one would be able to explain.

The meeting point had been determined by a phone call, Carlisle had been prepared from the beginning, and as much as they were enemies, the wolves and the Cullen's had one thing in common. Protecting their land. According to Alice, when the wolves had requested a meeting with the Cullen's after my disappearance, they had exchanged contact information so they could work together. It made sense to me, and I had wondered why they wouldn't have done it sooner.

We were meeting at the treaty line, a point located about a mile from the main road, it would mask us with trees and no one would see us there. I found myself getting more nervous the closer we got to the site, I was surprised that Jasper hadn't done anything to ease my panic, I knew he had to be suffering alongside with me, and I felt guilty about that, but the nerves won, no matter how much I tried to subdue them.

Carlisle pulled the car into the trees slowly, there was a small off road track hidden in the tree line, just as the entrance to the Cullen house had been, except this would never be found. I wasn't sure how it got here, or what the purpose of it was, but none of that really mattered right now, what mattered was the pool of people that seemed to be waiting for me.

The scene ahead of us had me reeling, the invisible line was discerning only by the separated groups. The Cullen's were stood the closest to us, they had beaten us here, which wasn't all that surprising considering they had been in the Jeep, an experience I was already accustomed to. On the other side was Jacob, he was taller and had filled out a little more but there was nothing to distinguish him as a wolf. Behind him, were five large wolves, bigger than my memory had allowed me to remember. The sight was intimidating, each of the wolves eyes were trained on the Mercedes as we pulled to a stop.

"Bella?" Jasper asked watching me carefully.

I looked to him, but I couldn't form any words, the sight ahead of us was bizarre, but it was something I had to face. Jasper looked concerned, I knew my emotions had soared since the visual had appeared and he was feeling it just as much as I was.

"You need to calm down, Bella. I'm going to relax you just a little." Jasper continued as I stared at him silently.

I nodded my approval, and the calm took a hold of me. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until I released the air I was holding in my lungs. The cloud of fear that seemed to of had a grip on me relented.

"Thanks, Jasper." I whispered calmly.

Jasper smiled and turned to open his door. Alice and Carlisle did the same, I hand my handle of the door when the smell hit me, it was the worst thing I had ever encountered, it was wet dog, tenfold. I looked to the Cullen's that were still in the car with me, and their expressions let me know they were experiencing the same thing.

"Werewolves." Jasper muttered as he got out of the car.

"That's what that smell is?" I asked Alice, she had only one foot out of the door and was trying to compose her expression before she went any further.

"It's easier if you hold your breath, but you'll be talking with them, so it's inescapable." she said smiling sympathetically. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car, the smell multiplied as I headed towards the grouping ahead of me. Alice was by my side within seconds, she wasn't breathing but her natural smile was still playing on her lips.

The Cullen's each smiled at me warmly, showing their support the only way they could, I stopped just ahead of them and they moved around me, flanking me on either side. My eyes finally reached Jacob.

He was stood not four feet away from me, his nose slightly scrunched, making it glaringly obvious that we must smell as bad to them as they did to us. His eyes were wide, drinking in every inch of me as I stood amongst the Cullen's. His eyes danced around as though he were avoiding mine.

"Jacob," I said as gently as I could.

With the sound of his name, Jacob finally let his eyes settle on mine, his expression seemed to fill with relief and his stature relaxed a little, but his muscles were still slightly tensed under his russet skin.

"Bella, are you okay?" Jacob's warm gravelly voice was like a warm memory, it was slightly deeper than it had been, but it was still Jacob.

"Fine, the Cullen's have been looking after me since they found me. They said I have you to thank for that." I said smiling at him. "How are you, Jacob?"

His dark eyes warmed for a moment before they dissolved back into the distant orbs they had been. "Better, especially now you're safe. I've been worried. The bloodsuckers that took you . . . I could have done something . . . why did you go into the forest alone, Bella?"

I hung my head, it was a question I had asked myself everyday for a year, one I couldn't answer, I didn't have an answer to it, but it had happened, it was in the past, something I could never change and could never be reversed. All the guilt I had been harnessing came flooding back to me and washed over me like the rain that consistently fell in the Olympic Peninsula. I wanted to drop to my knees and sob, cry real tears let the pain that I had been carrying around for the last year drown me, and consume my consciousness. I didn't want to feel, I didn't want to think, Jacob's very presence reminded me of everything I had lost, the memories flooded through me, reminding me of the last happy week of my life, reminding me of my father.

My legs grew weak beneath me and they buckled, the only thing I could think in that instant was 'this shouldn't happen to a vampire' but the ground continually approached me at a rapid speed, I welcomed it.

Before I made contact a strong pair of arms wrapped around my waist and I let myself get pulled into an embrace, without looking at my savior, I buried my head in his shoulder and closed my eyes.

"Bella," I heard Jacob's voice on the other side of the line, I knew he hadn't intended to cut me with his words, I hadn't expected to have that reaction, but the flood of emotions and memories that had hit me with the comment took me by surprise, it had literally knocked me off my feet.

A hand rubbed on my back supportively and I felt a burst of confidence and relaxation wash over me. I would have to thank Jasper for that later. I took a deep breath and froze, I knew the scent of the person holding me, it was unmistakable to me, it was Edward, I was wrapped in Edward's arms.

"Bella?" Edward's cool breath brushed softly on my neck as he whispered my name into my ear. I pulled my head from his chest gently and looked into his golden eyes, they were full of concern. I nodded reluctantly, letting him know I was okay. He stepped away from me but stayed in within reach of me from that point.

"Bella, I'm sorry . . . really . . . I shouldn't have said that." Jacob's face wore his regret and his dark eyes were full of remorse.

"Jake, it's not your fault, I've thought that everyday since it happened, and I still can't come up with an answer. It was just hearing it out loud, it brought back strong memories of that day, and from the last week of my life. You didn't say anything wrong." I smiled gently.

"I tried to find you, to help you, but they'd crossed over the treaty line, there was nothing I could do." Jacob said a bitter twist coating his voice.

"Jacob, it was too late for me, all I wanted was for you to save yourself." I said honestly, "Believe me, this year hasn't been the easiest, but the Cullen's are treating me well, and my life has gotten considerably better because of it. I've been with them for less than twenty-four hours and it's been the happiest hours I've had as a vampire, and that's because of you. I believe I am where I'm meant to be, but the others are coming."

There was a rumble behind Jacob as the wolves collectively growled, it was a menacing sound that sent a shiver through my very being. Carlisle took this as his cue to step forward.

"We know that you have rights on these vampires, you have no treaty with them and quite honestly we are in agreeance with you on that, I am not one to condone violence but I believe there is no other alternative, they will come to fight, we have taken Bella from them and they believe they have some kind of right to her, like she's a belongs to them." Carlisle said his calm even voice carrying through the trees. Jacob's eyes darkened and a small snarl twisted his mouth.

"We've been waiting for them." Jacob's voice had taken on a darker quality, it was full of vengeance.

"I understand that," Carlisle continued, "But Alice has been keeping an eye on them, and they remember what happened the night they took Bella, they know there is a line you will not cross, they'll be looking for it when they come, they are coming from the north, in hopes of avoiding you."

The noise behind Jacob once again picked up, the wolves weren't happy about the newest revelation, it was made glaringly obvious. Jacob's fists balled at his sides and a shiver ran through him like an electrical current.

"Will they find their opening?" he asked through clenched teeth, "And if they do, are you willing to protect Bella?"

"We have spoken about this as a family." Carlisle said, looking to Edward, I knew he wanted to get to what was on the wolves minds, Edward would hear their thoughts and would successfully ascertain their intentions. Edward nodded slowly. "We are willing to fight for Bella, but we are also willing to let you cross the line."

There was a softer nose traveling through the wolves, Carlisle once again looked to Edward, but Jacob spoke before Edward could relay the thoughts.

"You'll drop the boundaries until this is over?" Jacob asked dubiously.

"Yes, but there are stipulations." Carlisle answered.

Jacob nodded, he waited for the conditions to the temporary truce.

"You cannot enter the meadow surrounding our house, we will have Bella there as a safety measure until this is taken care of, if one of them passes into the area, we will eliminate the problem. This is merely a precaution, we don't need any accidents, if you should confuse any of our family members as the enemy it would be a direct violation of the treaty. We will not leave the meadow for the same reason." Carlisle finished, his voice never losing the calm and authoritative tone.

"Is that it?" Jacob asked his eyes twinkling with anticipation.

"Yes, but remember how close our boundaries come to the town and be careful not to follow the vampires if they pass through, if you're seen, it could be detrimental to our coexistence here. The humans have to be unaware of this."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "We're very conscious of the lines we will be running. Forks is neutral, we often pass around it. They will never make it that far anyway." Jacob said confidently.

The wolves excitement was palpable, this was a golden opportunity for them, they had free range over the peninsula, they had their prey and would undoubtedly use this brief freedom to get to them.

I realized how much danger they were eager to get themselves into, and Jacob would be one of them, panic crawled through me at the thought of him being attacked by James or Victoria, and before I knew what I was doing, I was stepping towards Jacob. Edward's strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me away from the line.

I didn't fight him, it felt so comfortable to be this close to him, but my concern for Jacob didn't falter. He was still so young, his size and stature didn't change any of that. If this had happened to him while he was so young, the rest of the wolves had to be just as young as he was.

"Jacob, please, this is dangerous." I begged, looking directly into his eyes. "You could get yourself killed."

Jacob laughed and the wolves behind him seemed to follow suit. The noise was just as menacing as the growls, but I ignored their confidence, I was certain it would be their downfall.

"Please, listen to me. They are talented fighters. Laurent, he was in the Napoleonic wars and every war since, he lives for the fight. James and Victoria are just as skilled and have talents that will help them avoid you, they'll use those things against you. Please, Jacob, listen to me."

"Bella," Jacob's smile spread across his face, "We were made for this, we're not as breakable as you think we are. I just need to know that you'll be safe."

"She will be." Edward reassured him, he still had his arms wrapped around my waist and the soft breeze created by his speech tickled the loose hair on the back of my neck. I shivered lightly as the thrill of the moment ran through me. This made Edward's arms wrap around me a little tighter.

I relaxed into his grip and he pulled me so close my back was flush against his chest. I could feel the movement behind me as he nodded his head at Jacob, I hadn't realized they'd been speaking silently.

Jacob grinned at me once more, "Bye, Bells. We'll talk again soon, I promise."

Then he was gone, he disappeared into the pack and they took off at full speed. I didn't avert my eyes until they were gone completely.

"What did he say to you?" I asked Edward, quietly enough for only him to hear.

Edward moved to remove his arms, but I placed my hand on his, stopping him. His mouth was at my ear.

"He asked that we call them when we know when they are arriving, and he asked me to keep you safe, he loved you as a human but . . ." Edward's velvet whispered trailed into nothingness.

"But?" I whispered.

"So much has changed since you were taken. Regardless of everything he will always love you as his friend." he said quietly.

I knew that Jacob had felt strongly about me, he was a kindred spirit to me and we had hit it off immediately, I wasn't blind either. I knew that he had hoped for something more from the moment we met, but fate stepped in and changed the course of the future. There was nothing that would change any of that.

Edward's arms slipped gently from my waist and his hands stopped on my hips. I smiled at the touch of his hands, it sent sparks through my senses and left a trail of fire that followed the connection.

He spun me until I was facing him and watched me curiously, I was sure he hadn't been imagining the smile that had plastered itself across my lips.

"He's found someone, hasn't he?" I asked unable to wipe the senseless grin from my face.

Edward nodded slowly, "They were calling it imprinting, the other wolves are still curious about it, and they were wondering whether he would tell you about it."

"What's imprinting?" I asked.

"From what I can tell, it's when a wolf finds it's perfect mate. The wolves are drawn to them. It's intriguing, and very similar to soul mates, just stronger."

"As long as he's happy," I sighed, and I meant it. He had been a good friend to me.

"You're not upset?" Edward asked, his expression was caught between humor and confusion.

"Should I be?" I laughed.

Edward shrugged his shoulders and blessed me with his crooked smile, I returned it warmly with a smile of my own.

"Ahem,"

The two of us turned our heads in the direction of the sound. Rosalie and Emmett were stood watching us. Emmett's grin was amiable as he watched us, but Rosalie had her hands on her hips, tapping her foot.

"As much as I enjoy watching the two of you flirt shamelessly, everyone else has gone and we're your ride. Do you think you could do that on the move?" She had started off with an acidic tone but as she ended she was fighting the giggle that threatened to make an appearance.

Edward and I looked at one another and then down at his hands that were still clutching my hips. He dropped his hands quickly and ran a hand through his hair as he turned and walked to the car. I, however, was planted to the spot.

"Bella?" Edward called, he spun around and shot me a grin. "You coming?"

I nodded and ran after them towards the Jeep.

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**A/N: Okay, so what do you think? I was tempted to ruin the story and have Jacob imprint on Bella (LOL Just Joking, I would never so that!) I needed Jacob to be happy, in his life and for Bella. All will be revealed I promise. Bella and Edward interact a lot more in this chapter, I decided it would be a good way for them to realize that had a thing. Hence the lost in the moment thing.**

**Thanks for the Alerts and Faves, awesomeness! And to the REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS ROCK AS ALWAYS - YOU ARE AWESOME.**

**BIG HUGZ - L**


	9. Chapter 8 The First Hunt

_**All things Twilight belong to the awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer (24 Days till Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 8 - The First Hunt**

I had been with Cullens for a week now, after Rosalie's comment about flirting, Edward and I hadn't spent much time alone, to my disappointment. It seemed someone would always drag one of us away. I was beginning to think it was a conspiracy to keep us apart, and if it was on Alice's command, I would follow it. I know she had a plan and she saw what would come of every decision I made, so I trusted that if she was the one keeping me away, there was a reason for it. It didn't make it any easier to comply however.

Alice kept me busy, she'd insisted that I go through my closet and let her know if there was something I needed that wasn't there, she also insisted I picked out the books and music I wanted. I certainly appreciated everything she was doing for me, but as I had explained to her a dozen times, there was no way I could ever repay her, or her family. To which, she would reply, 'you are a part of the family,' or 'get used to it.'

The week had progressed very much like that first twenty-four hours, it had been the happiest I had spent as a vampire. The Cullen's were the most wonderful vampires I could have ever hoped to encounter, whether it was through fate, or a friends intervention.

Each of them had been so accepting of me, Alice had often exclaimed how impressed she was with Rosalie's behavior. I didn't quite understand the context of the comment, Rosalie had been sweet to me since the day I had arrived. She was always trying to convince me to try her clothes on, she believed we were the same size, which always received a laugh from me. The girl was positively perfect in every way, there was not a flaw on her.

Emmett and Jasper were like the brothers I never had, they continually included me in every activity they planned, especially when Alice and Edward were at school. They had to continue to attend to keep up appearances. I was a little jealous, I hadn't completed high school once and all of the Cullen's had attended more times than they could remember. Alice had insisted she would attend with me when we moved on to the next city. It had amazed me how far ahead they arranged their new lives, and I was ecstatic that they included me in their plans.

I hadn't thought that far ahead in a long time, and now the thought was comforting to me, I just had to get through the visit from James, Victoria and Laurent. I was remorseful about giving away their secrets for one reason alone, and that was Laurent. No matter how bad things got with them, he had always kept me safe and made sure I was comfortable, he was the only silver lining I'd had, and the thought of him being killed was too much for me, he didn't really deserve it. I had spoken to Carlisle about this several times. It eased my mind and my conscience. Carlisle had promised that he would try and get Laurent to safety, but he couldn't promise me anything.

Edward, on the occasion we were in the same room, would watch me closely, his eyes rarely averted from my general direction and I took it as a good sign mostly because I always had the same reaction. I could watch him for hours, when he would play the lighter sports with his brothers, I would watch with the girls on the porch. His physique was as mesmerizing as the rest of him, the tension of his muscles, as he wrestled with Emmett was my favorite thing to watch, the two of them often got quite rough in their endeavor to win. Emmett was possibly the most competitive person in the family and enjoyed challenging everyone. The most interesting match by far, was when he challenged Alice. Her gift gave her the ability to predict the moves before they were executed, she made her moves into a flowing dance that was as graceful as any ballerina I had ever seen. She ducked and weaved seemingly to her own song, and no one ever got close.

I had been challenged a couple of times but still refused to participate, I wasn't quite comfortable enough with the family to show them what I had learnt from Laurent. After watching the Cullen's wrestle with one another it became quite evident that Laurent's fighting style hadn't followed any particular etiquette. He fought dirty, to win.

It was the early hours of Saturday morning when Edward was finally able to get me alone, everyone was paired up and had disappeared to their rooms, and after watching about as much TV as I could stand I decided to head to my room to read, Alice had bought me an iPod and I was hoping it would drown any noise that may find it's way to me.

Edward intercepted me outside of my room, his crooked grin reached to his eyes as he brought his finger to his lips to indicate I should be quiet. I nodded at him and smiled at his playfulness. He picked up my hand and took off running.

He was so much faster than me I found myself stumbling as I fought to keep up, his hand was locked around mine and as we made it across the meadow I was finally able to call his name.

"Edward," I laughed almost tripping over some fallen branches, "Hey, my legs don't seem to work at the same speed as yours, do you think you could slow it down, just a little?"

Edward slowed to a stop and listened to the night, I was sure he was listening for someone following us, but it seemed we were in the clear. I raised my eyebrows at him, trying to repress the grin that took control of me every time he was around.

"I would like to show you something," he said, his eyes sparkling with excitement, "Will you come with me?"

I nodded at him, lost in the beautiful golden eyes that seemed like deep lakes drawing me in. Edward's radiant smile filled his handsome face and he took off running once again, this time keeping pace with me. We ran for a little while before we slowed again. His hand held onto mine as we walked forward at a human pace.

'Do you see it?" he whispered.

I searched the forest ahead of me, there was a pool of moonlight laid ahead of me, I could see it through the trees that convincingly blocked it from anyone looking for it. I looked up at him and smiled before rushing forward. I stepped through some of the lower hanging branches into a perfectly symmetrical circle of grass, painted a delicate blue by the pale moonlight.

"Edward, it's beautiful," I gasped as I let my eyes dance over the natural beauty. The entire circle was surrounded by trees giving it the perfect cover. The grass was tall, and danced around my waist as I continued forward. I wanted to get to the middle of the meadow and appreciate it for all it's magnificence.

Before I knew what was happening, Edward was behind me, his hands on my shoulders and his mouth at my ear. "Do you like it?" he asked quietly.

"When did you find it? How did you find it?" I asked running my hands along the top of the grass.

"I found it the last time we came to Forks, it was just as perfect and undiscovered then, as it is now. Alice and Jasper weren't with us then and Rosalie and Emmett were newly weds. I didn't want to be around them and their thoughts, so I wandered a lot. I came across this when I was following a doe, she was beautiful and graceful, and I had no intention of feeding from her I just ran beside her, listening to her heartbeat. She broke through the trees over there." he said pointing to a low hanging tree. "I stopped and she kept going, the place was breathtaking I stayed here for the entire night and came back most nights after that."

'Do you still come here a lot? At night I mean." I whispered.

"No, this is the first time I've come here since I returned from Alaska." he said, a deep honesty roughening his usually velvet tone.

"Why?" I asked, wishing I could see the intensity I knew was burning in his eyes.

"I found something more beautiful, and I thought I'd lost it." he said walking around me until our eyes met.

I could feel the warm tingling running through my body as he stepped closer to me, I had nothing to say to his words, I couldn't find any that would express how I felt appropriately, but all I wanted to do in that moment was kiss him, the electrical current that ran between us was palpable now and he was easing slowly towards me. The anticipation was excruciating, and it took everything in me to keep my hands at my sides. He never broke eye contact once. The golden orbs closed in on mine and the magnetism between us took over. I lunged forward, my lips crashing onto his, his arms encompassed me pulling me as close as he could to his body. I wrapped my arms around his waist and fell into the moment. My chest exploded with the excitement and my senses throbbed. One of Edward's hands moved to the nape of my neck pulling us closer together and connecting us in the only way that felt real. His cool lips moved gently with mine but with such desperation and want, that for the first time, I felt truly alive, everything finally made sense. I was where I wanted to be.

Edward's hands tangled in my hair and the arm that was wrapped securely around my waist hoisted me up to his height. Without thinking, I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I never wanted this to end, my skin was alight with every touch and his embrace made me feel safer than I had ever been.

His lips left mine and they traveled lightly along my jaw to my neck, a sigh of contentment escaped from my lips as his mouth brushed lightly across my skin. I felt his lips develop a smile on my electrically fused skin, his grasp lightened and I realized that the kiss was over. I could have kissed him for eternity. It felt so right, so natural, like I should have been doing it for my entire life.

I unwrapped my legs from his waist and he lowered me to the ground gently. I looked once again into his gorgeous eyes and couldn't stop the smile spreading across my face. I had dreamt about that as a human, and it didn't disappoint.

Edward's hand stroked my cheek gently and his forehead met mine gently. "Do you believe it's possible to fall in love with someone you've never met?" he whispered gently.

I nodded slowly, not wanting the connection between us to be over. I knew what he was talking about, the first moment I saw him, he was all I thought about, it didn't matter how he'd acted in that classroom, I was besotted and his actions had done nothing to change that.

"I thought about you everyday after that biology class and it scared me, it's why I didn't come back. I had two conflicting urges running through me. I wanted your blood, but I also wanted you. I stayed away to keep you safe from my thirst." He confessed, his voice was full of remorse and pain. I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent, it was calming to me. It felt natural. "It didn't help you at all, did it?"

"Maybe it was fate." I whispered gently. "Like it was the only way it could ever happen. Who knows what would have happened if you'd have come back."

Edward didn't say a word, but I could feel his breath washing over my face. I opened my eyes and looked at Edward, his silence had intrigued me. His eyes were closed but a serene smile touched his handsome features. I watched him carefully, his beautiful features were so serene, I couldn't look away. His eyes flickered open from the intensity of my gaze and his warm golden eyes looked like molten gold. I could see the satisfaction running through them. This was heaven to me, I'd been through hell in the last year, but it was all worth it to get to this point.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asked gently, "Yours is the only mind I can't hear, but it's the only one I would love to listen to."

I giggled at his words, "Sometimes I'm glad you don't." I sighed, "But I was just thinking how happy I am, I don't know where any of this is going, but I'm looking forward to finding out."

Edward's forehead left mine, but his lips once again caught me in a kiss. This kiss was softer and less urgent, it was gentle and caring and filled with every emotion I was feeling. I was melting into him again, and I couldn't have been happier.

When Edward's lips left mine, I placed my head on his chest and closed my eyes again. His hands found their way to my hair and stroked it gently in a hypnotic rhythm. I wanted to stay this way forever, but all good things come to an end.

"We'd better get back," Edward whispered. "Alice heard us leaving and told me to stay close, James and his coven are getting closer."

"Alice knew we left?" I asked, still unwilling to move.

Edward chuckled, "You noticed the intentional separation then?"

"They weren't exactly subtle."

"They had good intentions." he sighed, "Alice was concerned, she thought it was too soon for you, after all you've been through she wanted you to have some time to adjust before letting nature take it's course."

I smiled, it seemed that Alice always had my best interests at heart, and if I truly thought about it, she'd been right, I needed time to find who I was again before I became a part of the family. For now, I knew who I was and what I wanted, and this was it, Edward was all I ever wanted, and in my own time I would let him know.

Edward and I strolled towards the house slowly, we were taking our time, enjoying the moment we had alone. No words were needed between us, the sparks that flowed though our connected hands made the silence comfortable, companionable and natural.

The rain had begun to fall lightly by the time we made it to the Cullen house, our clothes and hair were sticking to us when we finally climbed the steps to the front porch. Edward stopped at the door, he turned to me brushing the damp strands of hair from my face. His thumbs brushed lightly over the dark circles I knew had formed under my eyes.

"Do you think you're ready to hunt with us?" he asked gently. "The family is going hunting, we need our strength, just in case there's a need to fight."

I smiled, "If I change my diet, will my eyes take the same color as yours?" I asked excited at the prospect. I tried to avoid think about the need to fight, I could help them if it came to that, Laurent had gifted me with the skills I needed, but if I dwelled on the what if, it would ruin this perfect moment.

Edward smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me closer to him. "It will take a couple of trips, but eventually, your eyes will be the same color." he chuckled and planted a light kiss on my neck.

It was comforting to know that I wouldn't be different for too long, it had been one of the smaller things troubling me, a question I was almost too afraid to ask. I was afraid that the tell tale sign of my former diet would stay with me giving away my sin.

"I'm in." I sighed as his lips traced gently across my throat.

"We should go in then," he whispered, his breath tickling my skin. "They're waiting for us."

Before I could reply, the door was thrown open and the beauty, that was Alice, stood there with her hands on her hips and a grin on her lips. "We can't wait forever you two." she said feigning impatience, but her radiant smile gave her happiness away.

"Alice," Edward growled playfully. He pulled away from my neck and kissed me gently on the tip of the nose before flashing me his beautifully crooked grin.

Alice stepped out of the door followed closely by Jasper. Jasper grinned at the two of us and headed down the stairs. I had forgotten about his ability again, and I hated to think what he'd been feeling on the other side of the door as Edward had worked on my neck.

Esme stepped out of the door next looking directly at Edward, she was speaking to him in her mind, but her radiant smile was in place and it warmed me. I had been worried about the family's reaction to the newest progression.

Edward chuckled again and kissed Esme on the cheek. She grinned happily and headed towards the trees. Edward and I followed, the rest of the family were behind us as we disappeared into the darkened forest.

The cool rain fell from the canopy of the trees as we all spread out, Edward, never letting go of my hand, guided me towards the mountain ranges. I wasn't sure what we were looking for so I followed silently. I trusted Edward, I knew he would help me adjust to this, I was just nervous that I would be too thirsty to be left alone for a while until I adjusted.

My first year had been so difficult but my perseverance had made my abstinence possible, even with Victoria and James throwing the prey at me, hoping they would hinder me reaching my objective. Sometimes the thirst had eaten away at me, in those times I had locked myself away from Victoria, who enjoyed pushing me. My throat would burn and my senses would heighten, all I could think about was feeding, the warm blood easing down my throat, putting out the fire that burned so desperately.

Those had been the hardest times, knowing there was a cure to the pain, the irritation that consumed me, the internal battle raging inside of me had always been the hardest. I found a thousand ways to justify going out to hunt, but one concrete reason not to. It would pass, with time, but Laurent always felt the need to keep me safe during those times, he was worried Victoria would attempt something while I was in my 'confused' state.

I shook off the memory as I ran beside Edward, the memories did nothing but confused me and sadden my euphoric mood. Edward was watching me curiously and I smiled at him weakly. He slowed to a stop and immediately held my cheek in his hand. His eyes, full of concern, implored me to tell him what was on my mind.

"I'm fine, just bad memories." I smiled again. Edward didn't look convinced. "I'm just worried that I'll have to retrain myself again, I worked hard and pushed myself to keep my feeding down to a minimum, I'm just worried that the lack of human blood will make the urges stronger."

The hand of Edward's that was on my face moved gently to my neck. "Bella, animal blood is very similar to that of human blood. I am amazed you were so controlled in your first year, but things will get a little easier for you now. The blood of an animal may not satisfy you quite as much as human blood, and the taste may seem bland to you, but it will satiate the burning."

I smiled up at Edward, he'd just eased every concern I had. "Thank you." I whispered and kissed him lightly.

"Bella . . ." I placed my finger on Edward's lips to stop him from speaking, I knew he would over analyze my expression, I remembered Jasper and Emmett's words about him overreacting occasionally.

"I'm fine, Edward. Really." I insisted, before picking up his hand and gesturing for him to lead the way.

He gave me a quick glance before taking off again. I liked that he was so concerned about me, but it was unnecessary.

We continued on until Edward stopped abruptly, I listened carefully and could hear the light sound of the hooves as they passed along the ground, we darted slowly towards the sound sticking close to the trees. There was a small heard of deer spread out amongst the trees and being in such close proximity I could hear the heartbeats, along with the gentle flow of blood as it passed through them, the animals hearts beat at an elevated rate compared to humans and I was sure that they hadn't heard our approach. The venom gently gathered in my mouth as I listened. Edward looked to me once and nodded.

The two of us sprang through the trees, moved as silently as we could toward the gathered deer. I followed a large buck as he darted away from us, his quick movements had me immediately turning to my instincts. I moved with him his grace as he cantered through the trees excited me, I hated to take this majestic creature down but the venom had irritated my throat and I needed the release. Holding onto his antlers I dug my heels into the ground, the two of us slowed and the buck wriggled and writhed under my strong grasp. I pulled his head to the side causing his body to topple over onto his side. My lips were immediately at the vein that pulsated on his neck, my teeth cut easily through him and the warm liquid gently slid easing the irritation that had been created by the venom.

I was surprised by my satisfaction, the blood, to me at least, eased the thirst quickly. I felt elated, I was satisfied without the torturous guilt, making the effectiveness of the feed all the more apparent. I could live like this happily, the blood tasted a little earthier than that of humans but the difference wasn't at all what I had expected. It would be an easier transition that I had anticipated.

I cleaned up my mess before heading back to Edward, he'd already taken down three of the animals and was finished cleaning up the evidence by the time I returned. His look wasn't lost on me, he was concerned about my reaction. I smiled at him warmly, and I meant every bit of it, his features relaxed a little and he moved towards me.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his smile never faltering.

"Better," I laughed. "I'm actually enjoying myself. It was more satisfying than I could have imagined. And no guilt."

Edward laughed and ran his fingers along my cheek. "Your eyes are a rusty color, very close to your natural brown." he sighed.

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**A/N: I'm nervous to know your reaction and opinion on this chapter, I edited it twice and I think I was able to iron most of the kinks out, I'm actually pleased with the kissing scene, and if you want an added effect listen to (KEANE - Hamburg Song) It was playing as I wrote and I got emotional. LOL I am such a sap!**

**I couldn't torture you or Bella anymore LOL, it was the natural progression of the chapter, I had to move the story along a little because I couldn't have them so emotionally involved in less than twenty four hours, it just didn't feel right.**

**Thank you for the Alerts and Faves, and thank you to the REVIEWERS . . . YES YOU GUYS WILL ALWAYS ROCK, JUST BECAUSE YOU DO. I appreciate every word you send me ;0) **

**-BIG HUGZ - L**


	10. Chapter 9 Heart To Heart

_**All things Twilight belong to the awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Chapter 9 - Heart to Heart**

Edward and I made it back to the group quickly, it seemed everyone had found what they needed and reconvened. Each of them watched me expectantly waiting for a verdict. Edward chuckled beside me and I realized he was being flooded with questions.

Each of the Cullen's had bright topaz eyes, they were a glorious sight, the freshness of the feed was apparent. I was excited that I was well on my way to having the same brilliance reflected in my own eyes, it would make me a little more comfortable, and I wouldn't feel so out of place amongst them.

"Bella, Sweetheart, how did everything go?" asked Esme, her concern was reflected in her voice.

"Wonderfully, thank you, Esme." I answered happily. "It certainly eases my conscience."

The entire group smiled at my words, they seemed genuinely happy that the transition had been so easy for me. Poor Jasper seemed a little less enthused than the rest of them, but was still happy. Alice had told me he'd had the worse time adjusting to the diet.

We made it back to the house before it got too light outside, the day would be sunny and the Cullen's made a point of staying home during days such as these. They didn't want to risk exposure, if anyone saw us, even for a brief second, it would be obvious that something was astoundingly different with us. It was easier to stay close to the house, even with Alice's gift, she sometimes missed a stray human, simply because she wasn't as attuned to them.

Edward never left my side, and I was unwilling to leave his, whatever had grown between us was permanent and couldn't be extinguished. I felt anxious at the loss of his touch, so we simply held on to one another as much as we could. It never had to be said, we both knew the pull we had to one another. We'd been sat around the house most of the day, there wasn't much to do this close to the house and each of us were reluctant to wander too far in case Alice saw something.

Edward and I were curled up on the couch watching a movie that neither of us were particularly interested in, but it meant we could be close to one another. I could tell Edward was bored because his eyes were on me, more than they were on the television, I knew this because I was doing the same thing.

"Bella," his voice washed over me like a warm blanket.

"Mmmhmm." I answered, I was playing with his bronze hair, it had fallen gently over his forehead.

"What did you think was going on that day in biology? Why I was so rudely glaring at you?" he asked curiously.

I buried my head in his chest before answering, I had no idea this conversation would come up so soon, but I knew it had to be said eventually, and now was a good a time as any.

"I didn't know really, I think I must have played out a hundred scenarios in my head, and never getting to the right conclusion."

"I'm sorry, I thought back to that so many times, but it took me by surprise, and with such force. I thought you were my personal demon."

I smiled at him.

"What's so amusing?"

"I thought of you as my personal angel, it didn't matter what happened in that classroom, you were all I could think about."

Edward raised his eyebrows at me, he moved us into a sitting position and his eyes once again connected with mine, "Bella, do you have any idea what would have happened if I would have stayed? Your life would have been in jeopardy, you were like a drug to me."

I sighed and my hand came to rest on his chest, I was trying to form a sentence in my mind, but I had to close my eyes, the intensity of his gaze was keeping coherent thoughts from my head.

"Edward, I had never met anyone that stirred the kind of emotions I felt the first time I saw you, you were captivating to me. When you reacted the way you did, I was surprised how much it hurt me. I couldn't explain it, even to myself, we hadn't so much as exchanged pleasantries, but I was intrigued."

"Bella . . ."

"Wait, please, let me finish," I sighed cutting him off. "You say I was like a drug to you, but you were in exactly the same position, you had never spoken a word to me, you knew nothing about me. My blood was a temptation for you but you abstained. I can't help but think that maybe this was supposed to happen, the natural progression of our lives. If you had come back, maybe we would be in the same situation we're in now, maybe this was inescapable."

I opened my eyes, eager to see what his expression would tell me, he looked lost and a little hurt when my eyes finally washed over his face. My hand went to his cheek and I stroked it gently. I wished I had his ability, I needed to hear his thoughts.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, trying to plead for his honesty with my eyes.

"I would never have wanted this for you, Bella, this eternal damnation seems like a punishment at times and you don't deserve that. You deserved the best things in life, I knew that, and I would like to think I would never have been so selfish."

"It wouldn't have been selfish if I chose it, Edward. I can't believe that you wouldn't counter in my emotions. How would I have chosen if I'd have had the choice? I'm sure if it meant an eternity with you, I would have demanded it!" I said honestly.

His golden eyes met mine, the pain behind them was hard to miss. I knew that my words weren't comforting to him, but I was being honest. If I'd ever had this chance with him as a human, I would have insisted on being changed, aging while he was eternally seventeen would have been difficult for me.

"Edward," I sighed again, "This conversation is getting us nowhere, it's purely hypothetical and we're upsetting ourselves. It's too late to change the past, but we have the future."

Edward's eyes eased a little and a small smile played on his lips. His head moved towards me and his lips came to rest on my throat.

"You're right." the breath from his words tickled my throat and left tingling on my skin, the same reaction I always seemed to have when he touched me. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment, the delicate touch of his lips was a welcome distraction from the intensity of our conversation.

"I want to show you something," he whispered and pulled me into his arms as he stood.

Edward headed towards the piano and placed me gently on the bench, he took a seat beside me and lifted the piece that so elegantly protected the keys below it.

"You play?" I asked, knowing I shouldn't be so amazed at his many talents.

Without answering me, his long fingers danced across the keys, they moved so quickly it was hypnotizing to me. The sound of the music carried through the house, filling the silence with the melodic masterpiece he was easily playing. The music carried more emotion than I thought possible, the dark and haunting beginning was intriguing and so full of emotion that I simply closed my eyes and listened.

The darkness soon gave way to an enchanting harmony, it was as full of emotion as the beginning had been but filled me with warmth, I let the music dance around me, my enhanced senses felt the soft waves of vibrations washing over me, it was the most emotional thing I'd ever experienced.

When the playing eased to a stop, I kept my eyes closed, I was trying to regain control of myself after falling away. Edward's soft touch had my eyes fluttering open and I felt the smile on my lips.

"That was beautiful, Edward." I sighed placing my hand on his cheek.

"It really was." I heard a feathery voice say.

The voice had taken me off guard, I had been so lost in the moment, I hadn't realized that the majority of the Cullen's had congregated around the piano. Alice's voice had been the only thing to alert me of their presence. She giggled at my surprise, but what caught my attention was Esme, her radiant smile had multiplied and the look of complete contentment highlighted each of her exquisite features. Carlisle had her in a tight embrace as she gazed at her son proudly.

Without a word, Edward stood up from beside me and made his way over to Esme, whatever she had been saying to him, had moved him. He threw his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Alice, swiftly took Edward's place on the piano bench next to me. She leaned in close and spoke so quietly, I almost missed it. "It's the first time he's played in a year!" She grinned at me and raised her eyebrows.

Before I could ask Alice what she meant, I was being pulled into an embrace by Esme, her face was so full of serenity, I couldn't help but smile at her. She was the mother figure among us and she filled that role well, she was full of love and compassion and doted on each and every one of us. I returned her embrace happily.

"Will you come and talk with me, Bella?" she asked quietly.

I nodded and smiled. I knew this was coming, but after the scene that had just played out I wasn't afraid of what would be said. Esme's embrace had been her acceptance. The conversation would just be a formality, an outlet to ease her curiosity. I also had questions, questions I would only be comfortable asking her.

Esme walked slowly towards the stairs and I shot Edward a grin. His eyes followed Esme and I, but his smile told me he understood.

Esme and Carlisle's bedroom was large and bright. The walls were covered with soothing colors and the fabrics and furnishing came together in the most inviting way. Their large bed looked so comfortable, it looked as though you would sink into it. Their room had the large window wall with the beautiful view of the river and mountains. Two chaise lounges were placed in front of it so the view could be taken in with comfort. Esme motioned for me to take one, I obeyed and she took the other.

"Bella," she said as she got comfortable. "I want to thank you, when Alice told me what would happen when you joined us, I was overjoyed, but the outcome has been sweeter than I had ever anticipated. I have never seen Edward this content, not since the day I met him. He's always been such a lonely creature, insisting that he never needed anybody. He has turned down some beautiful women, and I think it was all because he was waiting for you. In the last week, I have seen him smile more than I thought was possible, and it's all thanks to you. I can never thank you enough, Bella."

I smiled at her sincerity, "I didn't do anything, Esme."

"You love him just as much as he loves you, Bella. That is something." she said with a conviction that made me believe.

Love, it wasn't something Edward and I had declared yet, but I knew that's exactly what I felt. Now he was in my life I couldn't imagine it without him. Love was accurate, but it also felt like so much more than that. I would never be able to put into words just how much he meant to me, he was like oxygen to me, something I needed to continue living. I didn't understand how it could have happened so quickly, which was exactly why I'd been to receptive to this private conversation.

"Esme?" I asked, a slight nervous edge to my voice.

"Yes, dear?"

"Is this normal?" I asked keeping my smile in place. "I mean . . . well, falling in love so quickly and so completely? I can't imagine my life without him anymore, I don't want to, but we've only truly known one another for a week. I've never had anything close to this before."

Esme smiled at me warmly and picked up my hand, "Sweetheart, love is a strange thing, sometimes it's immediate and sometimes it progresses. From what Alice was telling me, you knew, long before you were ever changed, how you felt about him. Being a vampire changes things, when we love it's eternal, we don't love easily, but when we find the right person it's undeniable, you know the moment it happens. It probably feels like it's all happening very quickly, but if he's your hearts desire, and I think he is just from what I've seen, it's meant to be."

I could feel the happiness bubbling inside of me, I knew how I felt, I'd known for a while but I wanted to know it was normal, Esme's words made perfect sense to me, I knew she would answer the question honestly and it was the reason I'd wanted to ask her. Being so new and inexperienced at love and relationships had made me nervous about the complexity of my feelings, I was throwing myself at Edward and I was afraid that everything could change. Esme had calmed my anxiety, I felt I had a better understanding of myself and my feelings now. Loving him for an eternity seemed like an easy task to me, if this was it, if he was the only person I would ever love, I would live for four eternity's to love him. One just didn't seem like enough, I knew in my heart he was all I would ever want.

"Thank you, Esme." I whispered.

Esme smiled at me warmly, she was still holding my hand, she tugged on it gently and pulled me into a tight embrace. I was on my knees in front of her before I knew it. Her maternal nature was comforting to me. I had lost Renee, she believed I was dead, and I could never see her again, no matter how much I wanted to. Esme filled some of that void with her kindness, she would always be special to me.

"You're part of the family now, Bella. I wouldn't have it any other way. If you ever need to talk, I'll be here. If you need anything at all, never hesitate to come to me. You're one of my children now, I will do everything I can to protect you."

I could feel the all to familiar quiver of my impending sobs. Esme's words had touched me. I was comforted by her words and I would hold onto that. I had a family now.

There was a gentle knock at the door, but I wasn't ready to release Esme just yet, I needed to compose myself. She rubbed my back gently.

"Come in." she said gently.

I heard the light footsteps of Alice and Rosalie enter the room, they were so quiet it was difficult to hear their movements, but the elegance was unmistakable. I finally relinquished my grip on Esme and moved back to my own seat, smiling at Rosalie and Alice, I was letting them know everything was fine. Alice moved towards me and sat on the other end of the chaise lounge. Rosalie did the same on Esme's side.

"So, we were thinking . . ." Alice said grinning, her eyes darted between Esme and I in her excitement.

"That's not good," laughed Esme wearily.

Alice jutted out her bottom lip in a pout, Esme simply laughed at the sad sight, she knew Alice too well to let it get to her.

"Well, you were thinking?" Esme laughed.

"Bella's going to need a car when we move, I'm sure she won't want to be dependent on someone else the whole time and each of us have our own vehicles . . ."

"Alice, no . . . I don't need . . ." but I was cut off by her hand covering my mouth, her smile was spread widely across her face as she gave her puppy dog eyes to Esme.

"Carlisle said it was fine, as long as you gave the thumbs up." she said grinning.

I moved my eyes from side to side, imploring Esme to say no, I really didn't need a car, and the Cullen's had already spent a ridiculous amount of money on me.

Esme tried to hide her smile, but it was useless, her grin could be seen through her terrible facade. "I think it would be nice," she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Maybe you should look around online and find something she'll like. I'm sure Rosalie will be able to help, she has more talent under the hood of a car than most of the men in this family."

"Aw, thanks, Esme." Rosalie laughing leaning over and placing her head on her mothers shoulder.

Alice pulled her hand away from my mouth, her smile was radiant, she seemed excited at once again getting her way. I just sat still my mouth wide open at the scheming of the three women surrounding me. Alice's dainty finger pushed my mouth closed as she laughed at me.

"For goodness sake, Bella. Anyone would think we'd asked you run naked through Forks. It's a car for crying out loud!" Alice sighed.

"Come on, Bella. let us have our fun. You'll love it, I promise." pleaded Rosalie.

"Please?" begged Alice.

I rolled my eyes, "Fine, but please don't go crazy."

"Bella, you're coming with us." Rosalie said rising to her feet and holding out her hand, "We'll research first, but we get veto rights and our decision is final. You can't change your mind now, it's happening whether you like it or not, so you may as well get something you like."

I took Rosalie's hand and let her pull me to my feet, I had no idea what I'd just gotten myself into but she and Alice seemed ecstatic.

After spending a good six hours looking at a plethora of cars on a computer screen, Edward finally rescued me. I was beyond making a decision now. Alice and Rosalie were discussing the pros and cons of a sports car, and continued the comparative analysis of it against a sedan. I was lost, I had no idea what they were talking about, so when I stepped away from the desk and told them I trusted their judgment, they seemed almost relieved. Edward chuckled as we headed towards the third floor.

"Thank you, I never thought I was going to get out of there alive." I sighed placing my head on his shoulder.

He kissed my forehead gently, but I didn't want to let it go, even after six hours of researching cars, my elated mood from my talk with Esme came bubbling again to the surface with his touch. I pushed him against the wall of the hall and pressed my lips urgently against his, I wanted him to feel what I was feeling. He pulled away from me but his eyes were on fire, he moved quickly and I found myself in the position he had just been in, my back pressed firmly to the wall. One of Edward's hands was against the wall by my head, his other arm was wrapped tightly around my waist, his body was pressed against mine.

"Edward," his name escaped me as a whimper.

"Bella," his breath was rugged in my ear.

Before I could say anything more, I heard Alice's footsteps in t he stairs. She called our names, before reaching the top of the stairs and Edward stepped away from me, his eyes still holding the intensity they had from our intimate embrace. I pushed off the wall slowly and turned around to face her, she looked so happy and bubbly the irritation at the interruption dissipated.

"Bella, we found it. We have to have it shipped but it should be here by the time we move." Alice's exuberance had me curious. She was waving a piece of paper wildly in front of her.

"Okay, Alice. Spit it out, what did you end up getting her?" asked Edward grinning.

"A Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S." she said proudly.

"A what?" I asked, she may as well have been speaking Latin for all the sense that made to me.

Alice handed me the sheet of paper. It had two pictures on it, below it was the price, I almost died on the spot. Edward chuckled beside me, he winked at Alice giving her his approval. I wasn't as enthusiastic.

"Alice!" I shouted loudly

"What?" she asked defensively.

"This is a one hundred fifty thousand dollar car, are you insane?" I shouted.

"Just a little!" she laughed and pulled the paper out of my hand, dancing away before I had the chance to say anything else.

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**A/N: The picture of the car is on my profile, it's so pretty I couldn't resist. I had fun writing this chapter, I wanted a nice relaxing afternoon with the Cullen's, I think there were a couple of conversations that needed to happen in here and I would like to thank _twilightaddict26 _for the suggestion.**

**Thanks for the Alerts and Faves and thank you to the REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS ARE SUPERB . . . AND OF COURSE YOU ROCK!**

**-BIG HUGZ-L-**


	11. Chapter 10 Closer

_**All things Twilight belong to the awe inspiring Stephenie Meyer (22 Days till Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 10 - Closer**

"Alice Cullen, don't you dare . . ." I shouted, but she'd already disappeared down the stairs at a rate of knots. Her giggle could still be heard from where I was stood. Beside me, Edward chuckled lightly and threw his arm around me.

"It's really not funny, Edward." I commented, but couldn't resist wrapping my arm around his waist.

"Bella, you have so much to learn." he smiled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Alice always gets what she wants, believe me fifty years of living with her, kind of makes me an expert, anyway, you need to get used to being spoiled, I plan on doing it a lot."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at him, I knew the Cullens had an insurmountable wealth but it seemed it went above and beyond any figure I could have dreamed up. The amount of the car had seemed like pocket change to children the way they'd behaved.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it, Edward." I sighed as I headed towards my room.

"You should know one thing, Bella." he smiled warmly.

"What's that?" I asked stopping and turning to face him.

"None of us had any of this before, when we were humans, we were living in the poorest of times, Rosalie was the only exception, she was a socialite. But the rest of us don't come from wealthy backgrounds." his face turned more serious. "I was dying of the Spanish Influenza when Carlisle saved me, Alice remembers nothing of who she was as a human, she doesn't even remember the pain, Esme was married to a soldier, he abused her, when she lost her child she tried to commit suicide by jumping from a cliff. Jasper comes from the civil war era and wandered until he found Alice. Emmett was a hunter. You grow accustomed to it, and it's all perfectly legitimate, we invest our money and it grows in time, Alice is very gifted at the stock exchange, and when we change identities, we inherit the money from a dead grandfather. We even pay taxes." he added laughing.

I felt guilty about what I had said now. I had never considered how each of these beautiful people had been as humans or even what they had been through to get them where they were now. Edward could see how I was feeling and immediately tried to alleviate the mood. He wrapped his arms around me once again.

"I wasn't trying to upset you, Bella, I just wanted you to understand it gets easier. You're a part of this family now, you'll begin to see how things work. Believe me, every house we purchase or own has it's own charm, but they get more elaborate, the cars we buy get flashier and more expensive. Our clothes, you see how Alice and Rosalie dress, their closest's are probably three times the size of yours and are full to capacity with designer clothes. Each of us came to this family with nothing."

I closed my eyes and leaned into his chest. I understood what he was saying, it was like a birth, you come into the world with nothing but build your place amongst the family. It was all part of becoming a Cullen.

"You're right." I sighed heavily.

"About?" he asked, kissing the top of my head lightly.

"I have a lot to learn."

My comment had made Edward laugh and I was glad that the moment had passed, I had started feeling like an ungrateful brat, which had never been my intention. The Cullen's had done everything in their power to make me comfortable and I was throwing it at them. My head shook lightly on his chest as his deep laugh subsided to a chuckle.

"I should probably go and thank Alice." I said not really wanting to move.

"She knows, she just saw you decide." I could hear the smile in his voice now.

"You're welcome, Bella." Alice's light voice carried up the stairs easily to me.

"Thank you, Alice, and you, Rosalie." I said back.

"You're welcome, Bella." Rosalie's beautiful angelic tone reached me and I laughed.

"Have they been listening the entire time?"

Edward nodded. "Welcome to the family.'

I shook my head against his chest and closed my eyes enjoying my new favorite sound, Edward's laughter. It was so melodic, and above everything it meant he was happy. I just hoped he was as happy as I was. Some giggles from the Cullen's sibling's reached me as Edward's laughter quieted. I didn't mind the embarrassment too much, it seemed like a natural course, it was all about becoming part of this unusual family.

I heard Alice come back up the stairs, she was being intentionally noisy so we would hear her coming. I imagined she didn't want to walk in on anything.

"Alice?" I heard Edward's tone change and his body froze around me. I pulled my head away from his chest and looked back at Alice. She was frozen to the spot, her delicate hands were wrapped around the stair railing. Her eyes were slightly glazed. She was having a vision, and from the reaction of Edward, he'd seen it, and it couldn't be good.

"They're getting closer," Alice murmured quietly. "It won't be long now, but they're purposely taking their time, they know we expect them so they're holding off."

I could tell that Alice was avoiding something, they were hiding an important piece of information from me. I wasn't sure if it was because they didn't trust me, or because they were afraid of upsetting me.

"There's more, isn't there?" I asked, hoping they would be honest with me.

Alice nodded and Edward's arms tightened around me. They didn't want to upset me. I should have known really.

"We need to speak with Carlisle." Edward said pointedly.

The three of us made our way downstairs to the living room, Carlisle had a shift at the hospital later, but for now he was on the couch with Esme. We were getting closer to the inevitable move, so they were ironing out any little creases. It seemed my arrival had sped up the process a little, we all knew I couldn't stay in Forks, there was a large chance I could run into someone I knew. I constantly apologized for this and it always gained me a hug from Esme, she hated that I felt uncomfortable about things like that.

As soon as we walked into the room we had their full attention, something about the way Alice and Edward had walked into the room alerted them to the fact that something was going on, and it was important.

It didn't take long for the rest of the family to join us, either. Jasper had felt each of our emotions as we passed through the second floor and had alerted Rosalie and Emmett. Each of the family took their places and Edward sat me down next to Esme. He gave her a knowing look before kneeling on the floor next to me taking my hand. Alice took her place next to Jasper before beginning.

With Jasper's expression, it was obvious that Alice and Edward's emotions were a lot darker than mine. I hadn't realized how bad this was until now, and Jasper made it very obvious, because his eyes continued to flicker between the two of them, his face shadowed with concern.

"I had a vision," Alice started, she looked at Edward quickly before continuing. "They are getting closer, they know we expect them and they are trying to use the element of surprise. They're also a little smarter than we gave them credit for."

"In what way, Alice?" Carlisle asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"They have a hostage." she said simply.

My breath caught in my throat and every hair on my body stood on end, I knew who they were talking about, I was the one who'd made the mistake. I had never thought they would stoop so low, but apparently, they had.

"Renee," my voice was at a pitch I never knew it could reach, and my entire body shook violently.

Alice's knowing eyes settled on me, full of concern and apologies, she didn't have to say a word, I already knew. James knew how much my mom meant to me, I'd asked him to check on her after they'd taken me. I'd been concerned about how she was dealing with my death. This was all my fault, I'd done this, I'd put her life in danger, all because they wanted me.

Esme's strong supportive embrace encompassed me and Edward squeezed my hand gently with one hand and rubbed my arm with the other. I was frozen, my mom was one of the more potent memories I had as a human and I could remember almost everything about her. Now she was with the people who had taken me from her.

"How?" I asked simply. I knew how they found her, I just wanted to know if they had taken her by force, or had they told her something to gain her confidence. Alice seemed to know exactly what I was asking.

"They told her you were alive, and that they would bring her to you. They've been kind to her so far, and she has no idea what they are. We need to warn the wolves." Alice sighed. She hated bringing the wolves into the equation because she lost all sight when she did, the outcomes couldn't be determined after their involvement.

I sat in silence trying to find any way out of the situation, there had to be a way to get Renee to safety, I couldn't let her be involved in what was happening away from human eyes. She was one of the most perceptive people I'd ever met, in time she would figure out something was wrong, and I was afraid they would hurt her if she attempted to run. As a human she was so fragile.

My mind wandered to my time with the small coven, my only silver lining had been Laurent and I hoped that he would extend the same courtesy to my mother as he had to me. His name continued to repeat itself in my head, at this point he was my only hope.

"Laurent." Esme said out loud.

The whole room gave her their undivided attention, she seemed just as shocked as the rest of us.

"What?" Rosalie asked gently, eyeing Esme curiously.

Esme looked a little embarrassed at her outburst. "I don't know, the name was repeating in my head."

Each of the Cullen's exchanged a look. Did she have the same idea as I did? I was sure that Carlisle would have shared my concerns with her, during my plight to save Laurent, I had explained his kindness towards me. Maybe Esme knew he was my mothers only hope.

"The same thing was going through my mind." said Emmett looking a little confused.

I frowned, how often did the Cullen's talk when I wasn't around?

"Bella?" Edward said, confusion and fascination lit up his face.

"Yes?"

"What were you thinking just now, before Esme spoke?" he asked gently, the excitement was now sparkling in his golden eyes.

I looked down at my hands. "Laurent, he was so kind to me, he was the one that protected me while I was with them, I was hoping, maybe he could . . ." my voice trailed off, each of the Cullens were now watching me wide eyed and on the edge of their seats. "What?" I asked shocked at their expressions.

"Bella, each of us were thinking the same thing," Edward said quietly.

I shook my head, I didn't quite understand what he was trying to say.

"Bella, could you think of something else, like you were thinking about Laurent? I have a theory." Carlisle said smiling encouragingly.

I tried to remember what I had been doing while I was thinking, was it the desperation for my mothers safety, or the repeating of his name, hoping he would help. I went with the latter, I thought of my mother, her name rolled around my head in waves, her face, and her name flickered through my mind.

"Bella?" Carlisle said drawing my attention away from my thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Were you thinking about your mom?"

I nodded.

Carlisle looked ready to jump to his feet with excitement, but he settled instead, by placing his index fingers on his temples. I looked at Edward and frowned, but he was lost in Carlisle's thoughts. Esme's arm tightened around my shoulders.

"I don't understand." I said, looked directly at Esme now, "What are you trying to say?"

"Bella, honey." Esme's soothing voice relaxed me a little but I was still confused. "I think we've discovered your talent."

"Talent?"

"Well, Edward reads minds, Alice sees the future, Jasper controls emotions. We're thinking that you're talent could be similar." Carlisle said, gazing at me hopefully.

"Wouldn't I know about it though?" I asked.

Carlisle thought about my question before even attempting to answer me. "I think . . . and we'll have to test it out . . . but I think you've never needed it before, and if no one's ever told you, you would have never known."

I frowned at them, what did he mean, needed it? What was _it_ anyway? A talent was all I needed, something else to juggle in an already stressful moment.

"What about my mom?" I said trying to divert them all back to the more urgent topic.

Edward and Carlisle stared at one another, I had a good idea that they were trying to have a conversation, I watched Edward closely. Carlisle could speak directly in his mind to Edward, but in order to answer, Edward would need to make a gesture.

Edward's eyes finally met mine, the look that filled them confused me, I had no idea what had been said but I couldn't understand the look that was filling me with a small shred of hope.

"Bella, I think maybe if Carlisle's right, this could help your mom, but we need to make sure that we're right before we do _anything_ especially something that involves Renee's safety." Edward said, never breaking eye contact.

"Okay, so what do we do?" I asked.

"We need to know exactly what you can do."

I took a deep breath and looked around the room, I knew this was important and I was sure that each of them had gone through the same process at some point when they joined the Cullens. I just didn't know how much time we had. Time was my only concern when it came to the experimentation.

"We just need to know the extent of what you can do."

"What _do _I do?" I asked, "I'm not even sure of that much."

"It seems like you can manipulate thoughts, it makes sense really, Edward can't seem to access your mind, which suggests that your mind is locked."

"So why would it manipulate thoughts if it's locked?" I asked confused by Carlisle's train of thought.

"It's almost as though it's protecting you, while it's locked, when you needed help it called out. It seems the concern you have for your mother had you looking for a solution, when you believed you'd found one, your mind projected it."

"So how will this help her?"

"Well if there's a way your mind can truly manipulate thoughts, maybe you can convince James and his coven to release your mother, or even make them forget her completely, and you."

I laughed at how completely ludicrous it all sounded, but I was alone in my humor, the others seemed to believe it could work. I looked at Edward again, my heart was leaping out of my chest.

"What if you end up forgetting me too? What if it works but I can't train it on just one set of people, and you all forget me too?" I asked, fear suddenly engulfing me.

Edward was on his knees and had my face gently between his hands in a second. Our eyes connected and I wanted to get lost in them.

"That's why we want to play with it, Bella, we will never do something that could hurt you and I will never risk losing you again."

Everything was happening so fast again, life at the Cullen house had just begun slipping into a nice calm serenity, we were all just getting to know one another, but again my life had to catch up with me and bite me in the ass. It seemed I couldn't escape my past, it continued to find me like I had a beacon screaming "over here." If this new revelation and this talent helped deflect these problems I would willingly help, these people had put so much faith and trust in me, it was time to repay them.

"Okay, let's do it." I said swallowing my fear. "Carlisle, where do you need me?"

Carlisle smiled and was on his feet in an instant. "We need to make sure you can control it first, and it would be nice to know whether you can target just one person."

"How do I do that?"

"We know that you can place thoughts in our mind, you've done it twice already. Why don't we start with trying to narrow your targets down. Try and tell Edward something."

I looked at Edward carefully and concentrated, I wanted to make sure that it would work on just Edward before I tried communicating with him alone.

'Call Alice a pixie' I repeated in my head over and over again. I concentrated on each word as I thought it.

"PIXIE," everyone of the Cullen's shouted out loud looking at Alice, Alice merely pointed at herself.

I pressed my lips together trying not to laugh at the scene laid out ahead of me.

"Hey!" Alice rested her hands on her hips as she feigned annoyance.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Okay Bella, that was quicker and the thought was a little stronger making the urge to shout it stronger. Try again, and if you could focus everything on Edward as you do it."

I nodded and sucked in a large breath. My eyes connected with Edward's and I thought of him carefully, then I pulled in the word Maserati and repeated it with as much force as I could, looking only at Edward and concentrating on him carefully.

"Maserati," he said in his velvet voice, our eyes were still connected and I didn't want to avert my attention just yet, it seemed that my concentration had worked, no one else could hear what I was saying. I love you danced around my head slowly as I thought about only Edward, our eyes were still connected. His lit up beautifully and his crooked grin spread across his handsome face.

He sprang towards me and pulled me into a tight embrace, "I love you too." he whispered gently into my ear.

"Do you mean that? Or did I manipulate you into saying it?" I laughed. I knew it was a valid point on my part, but I could be nothing but happy about the words he'd just whispered into my ear.

"I said it! It was just a faint voice in my mind and I recognized it as yours. I didn't let it get any further." he laughed.

"Did anyone else hear it?" Edward asked refusing to let me go.

The Cullens shook their heads and watched Edward as his embrace engulfed me. Edward smiled and kissed me on the tip of the nose before stepping away from me.

"Okay, Bella." Carlisle smiled. "Let's try a group."

I nodded and pulled in a deep breath. Alice and Jasper joined Edward in front of me. I tried to think of something none of them would know. I decided on my locker combination from Phoenix. I thought about Edward, Alice and Jasper, I saw their faces in my mind and began thinking the combination twenty-Four, Nineteen, ten. I repeated the words in my head over and over again.

"Twenty-four," Alice said.

"nineteen," Jasper followed.

"ten," Edward finished.

My eyes grew large and I looked at Carlisle again. What ever was going on, it seemed to work, the three of them had heard what I was saying and in perfect coordination read it back to me.

Carlisle seemed excited. "Can you make them forget it?"

"Uh?"

"Bella, try and convince them that they never heard the numbers." Carlisle said happily.

"How?"

Carlisle grinned at me and headed towards me quietly. "Tell them there is no such number as ten, just keep repeating those words and see if that does it, if not we'll come up with something else."

I nodded and looked at the three of them stood in front of me, I concentrated on them with my mind before repeating the sentence. Nothing really happened other than the four of us stood looking at one another.

"Jasper, can you tell me what comes after nine?" Carlisle asked.

"Eleven!" Jasper answered simply.

Emmett chuckled happily from the couch. Rosalie looked stunned but Alice and Edward seemed to agree. I tried not to laugh at the situation, but it was proving to be more difficult than I had anticipated. I looked at Carlisle and began snickering, he joined in with me, but Alice, Jasper and Edward looked confused.

"What's so funny?" Edward asked grinning at me.

"Ten," Emmett laughed. "Ten's funny man!"

"What's ten?"Alice asked.

That was it for the rest of us, I knew I had to fix it but their confusion was entirely too easy. Edward seemed like he was getting aggravated, so still laughing, I concentrated on only him and told him to remember ten, it's between nine and eleven. Finally a look of complete realization washed over his face and he smiled at us.

"Funny guys, that's just mean," he laughed. Alice and Jasper looked at him again.

"Edward, what the hell is ten?"

Edward tried to hold back his laughter but he was soon doubled over with the rest of us.

"Bella, please," Chuckled Carlisle, "can you fix that?"

I nodded and concentrated on the two of them. Each time I tried to convince someone it was getting a little easier, and I didn't have to concentrate so much on the words, just the people.

The laughter finally died down a little. My thoughts once again traveled to my mom and the situation she was in. Why hadn't I thought about her when I left, I should have known he would try something, especially seeing as it had taken them so long to get here. Their absence should have been what alerted me that somethings was wrong. In my stupidity, I had asked James to find her, of course he would use her against me, he knew just how much she meant to be, and how much it would hurt if anything ever happened to her. I could feel my subsiding laughter turning into the sobs I'd been holding back. Edward was at my side in a second and I was wrapped safely in his arms before the first violent sob shook my body. What was wrong with me, my emotions were all over the place and I couldn't control my train of thought.

"Bella, calm down, it's okay." he whispered gently.

"How does this help my mom?" I asked, my voice gravelly from the sobbing.

Carlisle looked to Edward and then back at me, "I have one more thing I would like you to try, it's evident that you can target certain people and localize the effect, but I wonder how strong it is? Do you mind?"

I shook my head and took his hand, I hated leaving the enclosure of Edward's arms, but if this is what would help save Renee, then I was willing to try it.

Carlisle placed a large ornamental vase in the middle of the coffee table. "Rosalie, would you like to help with this one?" Carlisle asked.

Rosalie shook her head, her eyes wide, but Emmett jumped at the chance and was stood beside Carlisle so quickly if I'd have blinked I would have missed it.

"Okay, Bella. What I want you to do, is make the vase disappear, like it never existed, do you think you could do that?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded and concentrated on Emmett, I thought about him and the vase never existing, there was no vase it was never there.

As with the number ten, nothing seemingly happened and Emmett stood looking at me expectantly. I shrugged my shoulders and looked to Carlisle.

"Emmett, do you remember where I put the vase on the table?" Carlisle asked.

Emmett shook his head and chuckled. "You didn't put a vase on the table Carlisle."

"Bella?" Carlisle called.

"Yes?"

"What did you do to give him that reaction?"

"Well, I thought about the vase never existing, that there was never a vase there."

'Alice, can you pick up the vase for me?"

Alice nodded and danced forward, she picked up the vase carefully and Emmett watched her closely, his eyes tried adjusting and he looked closely at her hands.

"Very funny, Alice." he laughed.

Rosalie raised her eyebrows and stepped forward. "Babe, it's right there." she said rubbing the edge of it gently.

"Alice, hand it to Emmett, will you?"

Alice nodded and held out her hands to Emmett, Emmett laughed again. The decoration looked so large in Alice's small arms, it wasn't heavy to her, vampires had immeasurable strength, but it certainly looked awkward.

"Emmett, take the vase." said Rosalie, frustrated.

Emmett's laugh disappeared when he saw the seriousness of Rosalie's expression. He sighed and held out his hands waiting for Alice to place the vase in them.

"Be careful please," Esme insisted. "That's one of the better vases."

As Alice let go of the object, Emmett's face dropped in shock. "I can feel something."

Carlisle nodded and Alice took the vase from Emmett's arms and set it back on the table.

"It's not perfect, but it'll work." Carlisle sighed.

I could see the plan now, make my mom invisible to James and make it as though she never existed, and then help them forget about her, I think he was right, it would work.

"How much range do you think I have on this?" I asked wondering if I could do something to help my mom now.

"I'm not sure, but I really don't think it would be a good idea to try something now." Carlisle said thoughtfully. 'We need another meeting with the wolves, I think we can still carry out the plan, but we need to give Bella enough time to work and get her mom away from there. Maybe this way we can help Laurent too"

I nodded, the possibilities seemed endless, I could say goodbye to my mom the way I wanted to and then make her forget she saw me. I could finally say goodbye to Charlie. I felt hopeful again, I had something to look forward to. I could tell each of these people how much I loved them and they would never know that it was real. It had been difficult having them ripped out of my life so suddenly and it was one of the many things holding me back, it was stopping me from fully letting go. I had to say goodbye to them, I wanted to and this would be the one way it could happen.

"Do you think I could persuade someone that a memory was a dream?" I asked hoping that it would be possible, I would love to have the chance to say goodbye and them remember it in their own way.

"What do you have in mind, Bella?" Asked Edward wrapping me in the protective embrace I wanted to feel for eternity.

"I want to say goodbye." I whispered, leaning my forehead against his neck gently.

'It can't hurt." Esme said standing up and placing a petite hand on my arm. She looked to Carlisle to make the decision.

"I think that's a nice idea." sighed Carlisle.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I never really intended Bella to have a gift in this story but it just happened, Esme blurted it out and it took off from there. I won't be dwelling on it too much, I think this chapter pretty much explains what she can do. At least i hope it does. ;0P**

**Thank you for the Alerts and Faves, for some unknown reason, every now and again my email and fanfic have a bit of a problem communicating, it's super annoying but, eh what can u do? Thanks to the REVIEWERS, YOU GUYS SUPER DUPER ROCK . . . LIKE ROCKSTARS ;0)**

**-BIG HUGZ-L-**


	12. Chapter 11 Charlie

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer (19 Days Till Breaking Dawn)**_

* * *

**Chapter 11 - Charlie**

It took a couple of days for me to build up the courage to even drive by Charlie's house, Edward and I would get into his Volvo and before we'd even hit the end of the secluded drive I'd beg him to turn around.

I'd done this at least four times in the last two days. I needed to do it soon because we were running out of time, James and the others were rapidly approaching with Renee, I didn't know what would happen so I wanted to make sure this would work on humans before I put Renee's life in danger.

It was two am when I finally built up the courage to allow a visit, I wasn't planning on stopping, I just wanted to make sure I could see the house without breaking down. The last thing I wanted with my goodbye to Charlie was sobbing. It wouldn't be fair to him and I would never be able to say what I wanted to.

Edward slowed the car to a crawl by the house I had occupied for less than three months, I could feel the pang in my chest, this would be so much harder than I ever anticipated. Inside that house was my father, I was like him in so many ways and I hardly knew him, but I loved him more than he would ever know. The emotions came crashing over me, I wanted to talk with him so badly, tell him everything I could have never said when I was human.

I could smell his scent from the car and hear the soft snore as he slept peacefully. His room was at the other side of the house but my enhanced hearing could hear everything.

"Charlie," the soft female voice shocked me, I really hadn't been expecting it.

Charlie grunted quietly in response.

"Charlie, wake up." I could hear the smile in the woman's voice.

I looked to Edward, he was watching me carefully. I knew he hated seeing the pain that was behind my eyes. We'd become so close in these last couple of days that we were inseparable. He was my strength, he made me feel like I could do anything, I would never get through this without him.

"I'm up," I heard Charlie's voice gravelly with sleep as he moved in the bed. "What is it Sheila? Are you alright?"

"Give me your hand, the baby's kicking."

The air in my lungs came out in a whooshing sound, I'd forgotten about the woman and my unborn sibling. Edward immediately took my hand in his, stroking the back of my hand calmly with him thumb.

"Bella, love, are you alright?"

I nodded, trying to find my voice. "Fine, I just forgot, and it's a bit of a shock." I sighed.

The hand of Edward's that wasn't already holding mine reached out and cupped my cheek, he turned my face gently to meet his, I looked into his topaz eyes that were burning with concern.

"Really, Edward, I'm okay." I insisted.

I heard Charlie's light chuckle from inside the house. I was glad he sounded so happy, it was what he deserved. During my time with him it was blatantly obvious he was still in love with my mother. He would never have admitted it but I was intuitive enough to notice. I knew that the harsh words that were exchanged after my 'death' had freed him of those bonds. Renee could be cruel when pushed, and I feared that if she'd said what she was feeling, even in her despair, it would've divided them and broken any hope Charlie would have held.

It was a hard pill to swallow, but one I accepted. He finally had closure, there was nothing linking them together anymore, I was the bond, I was the one thing that kept them in one another's lives and now I was gone to them. He finally had a chance to live.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asked quietly. It was still an adjustment to him, he heard everyone but me and I knew that sometimes he wished he could decipher my thoughts, but I enjoyed the privacy, if I needed to share, I now had the ability.

"I'm happy he's free, it seems I was the one thing holding him back." I sighed.

"Bella," Edward lamented, "believe me, you never held him back, you kept him going. Do you know what he's thinking?"

I looked at Edward with my eyebrows raised. He laughed gently, knowing the answer.

"He's remembering when your mom was pregnant with you, he wishes you were here to share this with him."

The surge of emotions filled me at his words, I always knew Charlie loved me, and I knew that he had always respected me, but him wanting to share his joy with me meant so much. I turned my head gently and kissed the palm of Edward's hand, he knew I was thanking him, the answer had made it a little easier for me to deal with.

I could hear Sheila as she shifted around in the bed, I wasn't sure how pregnant she was but she sounded awkward.

"What do you need Sheila?" Charlie asked, I could hear the smile in his voice and it was obvious he was watching his pregnant girlfriend trying to move.

"Snacks, I think I want some of those chips, you know the really hot ones. I can't seem to get enough of the spicy foods."

Charlie laughed gently. "You stay here, I'll get them."

"Thank you, hun." Sheila sounded relieved.

I heard more movements in the house and I made my decision, it was now or never, I was sure it would be difficult getting Charlie alone again. Sheila may miss him if he took too long and look to find him, but I would have to take the chance. I needed to see my father.

"I'll be back." I said to Edward as I moved from his gentle touch.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked, his voice reassuring me in every way.

"No, he knows who you are, it would confuse things."

Edward nodded and I stepped out of the car and into the quiet night. The fresh air made it a little easier to think. I moved quickly through the shadows to the front of the house, the only person that needed to see me was Charlie. It would make this difficult if someone had seen me without my knowledge.

I searched the eaves and found the key where it had always been, some things never changed.

I let myself in quietly and headed towards the kitchen, where Charlie would be arriving soon. I sat in one of the mismatched chairs and waited for him. I had been through this so many times in my head since I discovered my gift, but I still felt a little apprehensive. I knew I needed to take the shock out of the situation, Charlie wasn't as young as he used to be and I was afraid I would scare him half to death. I thought about him and tried to make him expect to see me in the kitchen, I just hoped that it had worked.

I heard his heartbeat begin racing as he reached the bottom of the stairs, it had worked, he'd expected me. His heartbeat gave away his anticipation.

"Bella?" his voice was shaky as he moved towards the kitchen.

"Yes dad." I said quietly. I knew my appearance would shock him, I was paler than I used to be and my body had become more developed with the transition. I hoped it wouldn't be too obvious, but then I doubted he would notice. Seeing your dead daughter sitting in your kitchen would probably take any shock of how I looked out of the equation.

Charlie appeared in the kitchen quickly at the sound of my voice and the look he was giving me tore me apart. His eyes were welling with tears and his bottom lip quivered ever so slightly, he was holding back a breakdown. His feet carried him forward slowly, his face full of disbelief, his mouth hung open slightly at the sight of me. Maybe I should have made him believe I was in the kitchen, rather than simply expecting me.

"It's okay, Dad." I whispered but I could hear my voice cracking. "It's me."

"How?" his voice was rough with emotion as he fell into the kitchen chair opposite me.

"It's difficult to explain, and I don't have too long, I'm just happy I was able to come. I needed to say goodbye, I hope you understand." I whispered gently.

"Oh Bells, I miss you so much." Charlie's voice cracked and his tears began flowing freely. His head dropped into his hand as he tried to hide his emotions, I hadn't expected him to react like this and I felt a little guilty at putting him through this again, but I hoped it would give us both closure.

I was quickly out of my seat and in front of him, the emotions were too much and I couldn't control it any longer. I knelt before him, my dead heart was tearing into small pieces at the sadness he held in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry Dad, I miss you too, more than you will ever know." I whispered as I stroked his arm gently. His head was immediately out of his hands, and his eyes searched my face.

"You're so cold." he gasped as he placed a hand on my cheek. His hand was so warm on my skin, that I could help the smile brewing.

"I know dad," I smiled weakly.

His eyes met mine and held them for a moment, then he lost his composure and cried. His shoulders shook with the grief he was feeling and the tears fell down his cheeks with such freedom that I felt compelled to hold him. My arms encircled his neck, I wanted to hold him tightly but my strength would hurt him so I held back and kept myself conscious of the strength I was using. His arms wrapped around me and he cried into my shoulder, it was such an honest moment that I almost fell apart. This was so much harder than I ever thought it could be, Charlie had always been so strong and tough seeing him breaking down was killing me all over again. I was stuck in his warm embrace but I feared I was making him cold, I tried to back away a little bit but he pulled me closer, it didn't seem to bother him, so I hugged him and let him cry. He finally quietened after a while but I didn't let go of him, I couldn't, I was saying goodbye and it was hurting me more than I would ever admit.

"I'm sorry, Bells." Charlie whispered into my shoulder. "I should have protected you."

"Dad, no apologies, this is hard enough without hearing you apologize for my mistakes." I said, pulling back and looking at his face, which held the pain.

"Your mistakes?"

"Yes dad, I chose to go into that forest alone, I went too far and got caught off guard, there was nothing anyone could have done. There is no fault here but my own and I need you to understand that. I can't rest until I know that you are alright."

"Oh Bells, you were here for such a short time, I should have taken better care of you. Your mother was right, I'm a lousy father, she never should have trusted me" Charlie sighed hopelessly.

"Dad, I was a seventeen year old girl, capable of looking after herself. Mom was upset, she didn't mean any of that, you should know her well enough to realize that."

Charlie picked up on the past tense and looked at me again, a fresh wave of pain creasing his brow. This time he really looked at me. He gave me a small smile through his tears, and I smiled back gently.

"You make a beautiful angel." he grinned hopelessly.

I laughed quietly and kissed his forehead. I had never expected words like that to come from him, he wasn't particularly religious and I had never heard him refer to any type of spirituality, this was something new, something that made me realize how little time I'd had with him.

"Bells, I have so much to tell you. . . I . . . well, I, em, I . . ."

"I know dad," I laughed at his stuttering. "This baby will be so lucky to have you as a father, I couldn't be happier for you."

Charlie smiled at me, but I could see the pain playing behind his eyes. "I wish I'd had that opportunity with you, I never saw you enough, I should have fought for more time with you, instead of agreeing to two weeks in the summer, I will always regret not spending enough time with you Bella, you turned out to be a wonderful young woman."

I smiled at him happily, I hated that he hurt so badly, but I couldn't help being happy that he'd wanted to spend more time with me.

"Bella, Sheila's coming downstairs." I heard Edward's voice reach me, I knew I would be the only one to hear it.

I hated to leave so soon, I had so much I wanted to say, I wanted to bask in open honesty we had with one another in this moment. I could feel the ripping in my chest as I prepared to say goodbye. This would be the last time he saw me, but I promised myself I would check on him in the future.

"Dad, I have to go, but I love you, and I want you to know that I'm happy for you and you have no reason to worry about me, I'm being taken care of where I am, and I will be happy there knowing that you are doing well and living your life as happily as you can."

"I love you too, Bells, I will never stop missing you, but I will hold this moment in my heart for the rest of my life."

I stood up from the floor and kissed my father on the forehead before taking off he closed his eyes as if trying to memorize the moment.

His words had touched me more than I thought they could and I was steadily losing control of my emotions. I could hear Sheila on the stairs. She was walking slowly because of the baby she was carrying. I backed away from Charlie, taking one last look before fleeing.

As I disappeared through the front door I thought of Charlie with everything I had, and begged him to remember it as a dream. I didn't want to change a moment other than that I was really there, I hoped he would hold onto it and realize I was okay.

I was back in the car in seconds and I let myself fall apart in Edward's arms as my father retold his dream to Sheila. My entire frame shook violently with the sobs I had been holding back, I couldn't stop them, they came in waves that drowned me in sorrow. I had been able to say goodbye, and it hurt like hell, but it gave me a sense of closure. I knew Charlie would be okay, he would live knowing that I was at peace.

Edward held me tightly, letting me sob tearlessly into him, he was supportive in every way I needed him to be, he never said a word, he just stroked my hair gently, letting me get the emotions out of my system.

We left just before dawn, Charlie and Sheila had spent most of the night dissecting the dream, and what it had meant. Charlie was happy, Sheila had encouraged him to believe that it was my way of saying goodbye, and that the dream was symbolic. She was quirky, I knew that I would have liked her if I'd ever had the chance to meet her, and from the way she spoke to Charlie it was evident she loved him, and her thoughts had confirmed her words. Edward had explained her thoughts as they came to her, she was happy he'd had the dream, in her words, it had given him the closure he'd so desperately needed.

Charlie had always been so factual and literal. He was the police chief, I had been afraid that he would never have believed what he was seeing, but it seemed like my death had left him a little broken. This seemed to have given him enough of an open mind to see the dream for what it was. I would be thankful to Sheila for the rest of eternity. She was helping him through this, listening to every word he said and reassuring him that it was normal, that he should carry it with him as a final memory of me.

The drive back to the Cullen's house was in complete silence, but it was comfortable. Edward had left me alone with my thoughts. I was calm now, and I was feeling more relaxed than I had been since I had decided to see Charlie, there was a tranquility surrounding me, one I hoped would be complete as soon as I'd had the chance to say goodbye to Renee. Before I could do that, however, I had to deal with James and Victoria.

The house was quiet when we made our way inside. Carlisle was on the night shift so Esme was more than likely busying herself finding a house for us to move into. Jasper and Alice had been going hunting and Rosalie and Emmett were nowhere to be found.

I was immediately nervous at the lack of company, my mind, still reeling with thoughts of Charlie began hitting the worst case scenarios.

"Bella?" Edward's voice was clear next to me and I let my eyes wander to him, trying to hide the panic. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing really," I lied.

"Bella," Edward picked up my hands and pulled me to him. "Talk to me, please."

"It's just a little unnerving coming back to an empty house, not to mention the fact that we left the phone here, I just panicked."

Edward laughed and kissed me on the forehead, "It's not empty, believe me, I'm hearing thoughts I'm trying hard to block out."

I brought my lips together to stop myself from laughing but I knew that my eyes were giving me away. Edward's eyes reflected his own smile.

"You want to get out of here?" he almost begged.

I nodded, I knew where we would go, and it was somewhere I wanted to be. It would help me clear my head. Edward picked up his cell phone before we left, he'd left it behind when we headed for Charlie's, I hadn't planned on stopping so we'd expected to be home quickly, we rarely left the house without it in case Alice saw something.

"Ready?" he asked, picking up my hand.

I nodded and stepped out of the house, we ran side by side in silence, holding hands, as we made our way swiftly through the trees. We arrived at the meadow quickly, the sky was lightening as we crossed through the low hanging branches into the beautiful patch of grass. It looked breathtaking in the light of dawn.

"I'm going to miss this." I sighed as I sat down amongst the tall blades of grass surrounding me.

Edward sat next to me and watched as I laid on my back looking up at the cloudy sky.

"We'll find something like it."

"Anywhere is fine as long as you're with me."

Edward chuckled at my response. I felt his fingers as they gently brushed loose strands of hair from my face. I closed my eyes at his gentle touch. It was peaceful just being so close to Edward, our bond to one another was so strong that I couldn't imagine my life without him, every time he touched me, my skin tingled, I hadn't lied to Charlie, I was happy, as long as I knew he'd be okay, and I had Edward by my side, I was fine. I would feel even better when I was able to say goodbye to Renee, but I was still worried about James and the others.

"Wanna talk about it?" Edward's soft velvet voice penetrated my thoughts.

"I was just thinking about how happy I am now, being with you, knowing Charlie will be alright. I'm just worried about Renee being with James and the others."

I felt Edward's body lay next to mine in the grass, I opened my eyes and looked up into his handsome face. He seemed as happy as I was, and more content that I could possibly imagine.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

He looked at me again, appraising my mood.

"You, it's always you. I hate that you have to go through this, I hate that this happened to you, but I can't help but be happy you're in my life. I love you more than I thought was possible. I have been alone for so long, and I never thought I needed anyone else, I thought I was content. Then I met you and I was so confused about how I felt I ran, it's one of the worst mistakes I've ever made, I could have protected you, but my blood lust was as strong as my draw to you, I was afraid I would hurt you, I thought by leaving I was protecting you, but you ended up here all the same."

"Edward," I said, my eyes connecting with his. "You saved me, right here, now. I feel whole with you, like I've been connected with another part of myself, we were meant to be together. I have to believe that, I don't think it would have mattered which direction we would have taken. The only thing that matters to me is you."

Edward's eyes closed and he drew in a long breath, I lay quietly watching him, his features were smooth and emotionless as he processed my words.

"Bella," his eyes flickered open.

I cut him off before he could say something, that would ultimately change nothing.

"Edward, the past is just that, the past, there is no changing it, so there's not point in thinking about what could have changed, or what could have been done differently. We are here, now, and I intend to enjoy it, every bit of it, you are my present and my future, and it's all I want to see."

Edward's lips came crashing down on mine without warning and my body responded immediately, I couldn't get enough of him, he was like a drug to me, addictive in every sense, my body arched towards him as our kiss became more passionate, I was so lost in the moment I couldn't think, I couldn't move, I just wanted Edward, I melted into him.

"Well, well, isn't this sweet." I froze at the voice, Edward's body became rigid against mine, I knew the voice all too well, it made my skin crawl.

It was James.

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**A/N: Dun Dun Dun . . . I apologize for not uploading Sat and Sun . . . I had a date :0)**

**Sorry if this was depressing but I felt the need for Bella to say goodbye, I knew it would be painful and I hope I wrote it well enough to convey the emotions they were feeling, I figured Charlie may fall for it seeing as how distraught he was at losing Bella. I thought I would surprise them with James, all will become clear in the next chapter I promise . . . I guess that's a redundant comment seeing as thought it's a story and that would be the progression of it!**

**Thank you so much for the alerts and Faves, and thank you to the REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME, I LOVE HEARING WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY AND YOU TOTALLY ROCK!**

**-BIG HUGZ-L-**


	13. Chapter 12 Threats

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesomely Awesome Stephenie Meyer (18 Days til Breaking Dawn)**_

* * *

**Chapter 12 - Threats**

Edward was on his feet and held a defensive stance over me before I had time to even think. How had we missed hearing James approach us, and why hadn't Alice called?

I was on my feet in an instant and Edward stepped in front of me, blocking me from James' view.

"Did I interrupt something?" laughed James.

Without even seeing him I knew the look that was on his face. I stepped to the side so I could see him, placing my hand on Edward's arm so he would know to stay where he was. I needed Edward to know what I was doing so I made an effort to let him into my mind. The infinitesimal nod he gave me let me know he'd heard me.

"What do you want, James?" I asked venomously.

James laughed heartily before his crimson eyes narrowed. "Haven't you gotten confident, little Bella."

Edward growled menacingly, the hand of mine that was still resting on his arm squeezed it gently. James was playing one of his little mind games, he liked the challenge, and Edward's protective demeanor was making this all the more fun for him.

"Leave us alone, James, why did you even come here?" I spat.

I knew I had to keep control of myself, if I even mentioned my mother, the game would be up and he would know that there was someone among us who could see what he'd done, I was worried that if I so much as brought her up, they would disappear with her.

The vibration of Edward's phone in his pocket pulled me out of my thoughts, I knew who it was.

"Bella, is that any way to treat an old friend?" he sneered, "After all, I'm keeping my promise, I told you if you ever ran I would follow you, so here I am and I brought you a gift."

I raised my eyebrows at him, I had to keep up the charade for his benefit, and for my mothers safety. If we took him out now, Victoria would enjoy her vengeance, she would make a point to kill my mother in front of me. I knew them too well, they'd given me an arsenal of knowledge, even if they didn't know it.

"You don't want to know what it is?" he laughed vindictively.

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say!"

James narrowed his eyes into slits and stepped forward, his cocky swagger made a wave of anger run through me. Edward automatically moved to counter James' actions. There was enough tension in the air to cut with a knife, the two men would happily battle one another, I was the only thing stopping that from happening.

James bared his teeth and his body tensed. "Oh, I think you are!" his words came through his teeth as a hiss.

"Leave. Now!" Edward's normally velvet voice was deep and rough as he spoke the words through his clenched jaw.

James lowered himself into a crouch, he was preparing himself to pounce.

"Stop it, Now." I spoke with as much authority as I could muster, I couldn't risk losing Renee like this, if James was harmed in any way, Victoria would take action.

The standoff was still apparent, the two men were eye to eye as the prepared to pounce.

"Edward, please," I could hear the begging in my voice.

"Difficult decision, isn't it, follow your instincts or follow your mates wishes. What'll it be, Edward?" James' sneer was annoying me and I could have taken action as easily as Edward wanted to, but my mother was my main concern right now, retribution would be mine, but for now, I had to walk away.

Edward's snarl traveled across the open field, he was playing into James' hands and I knew it, just as much as James did. I rubbed his arm gently trying to calm him down and I spoke to him the only way I knew to be private.

'_Edward, please, this is what he wants, I know how hard this is, I want to destroy him just as much as you do, but Victoria has my mother, she won't hesitate to kill her if we do something stupid. I understand this is hard, but please, please, don't play into his hands.'_

Edward took his eyes from James briefly to look at me, I knew that the way I had spoken to him was almost a beg, it was apparent even in my subconscious voice.

James laughed as Edward stood up straight. He never gave up his stance, he knew better and had been in enough confrontations to understand that this might not be over.

My hand ran down Edward's arm to his hand and he took it willingly, squeezing it gently. I stepped back slowly, away from James, I wasn't going to give in to him and ask him to tell me what I already knew, he was smart enough to know that if I asked, there was a reason for it, he was testing me.

"You don't want your gift, Bella?"

I ignored him and continued to back up, I would never turn my back on him, I knew how he operated all too well. My eyes followed him as Edward and I backed towards the tree line. I could see how tense Edward was, his jaw was clenched tightly, it was easily seen under his porcelain looking skin.

"Make the most of your time with the freaks, Bella. You're ours and we'll take you, even if we have to rip you apart to do it."

Edward's hand squeezed mine so tightly, if I was human it would have broken every bone in my hand, but I was thankfully more durable than that, and I appreciated his continued effort to ignore the provocation, it was getting harder the more James spoke.

"I don't _belong_ to anybody James, I chose the Cullen's and if you think I'll give up that easily you don't know me as well as you assume you do!" I said plainly.

"Oh, I think our little gift will persuade you to come back," he laughed. Then he turned around and simply walked away.

Edward and I stopped and watched him as he strolled carefree away from us, I was relieved that it had stayed calm enough to establish that I had no idea was he was talking about, or that I even cared about what he was referring to. The game was set, and James was a willing participant, this is what he lived for.

"Are they all like that?" Edward asked, his voice finally relaxing.

"Victoria's worse." I sighed and turned around so we could make our way to the house.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Edward and he kissed me on the head before taking my hand and setting the pace for our run back to the house.

We slowed before we reached the meadow surrounding the house, I had questions and Edward had been so quiet I was sure he had some of his own.

"What was he thinking about?" I asked as we walked slowly out of the trees.

"You mostly and how much fun they would have with you when you got back, it seems Laurent may not be as innocent as you think he is." Edward said, there was a slight growl mingled with the words as he spoke.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Bella, the only reason they kept you with them for so long is because Laurent expected you to become his mate. The first thought James had, after he'd walked up on us was how upset Laurent would be that someone had tainted his mate."

"What?" As hard as the news was to process, it made perfect sense. "Edward, I . . ."

"Bella, he was honest in his thoughts, I know that you would never have agreed to it, but I'm glad we got to you when we did, I have a feeling you wouldn't of had a choice in the matter had you been with them any longer, Laurent was growing impatient."

My entire body shuddered involuntarily, the thought of being violated like that made me sick. If I thought about it, I knew what Laurent was waiting for.

"He was waiting for my newborn strength to dissipate, wasn't he?" I asked, trembling with a mixture of fear, anger and disgust.

Edward nodded slowly and stopped. He pulled me to him and held me in his arms. I was angry, more than I thought I ever could be, I had spent so much time worrying about keeping Laurent safe, because I thought he was my friend, nothing more. Finding out about his darker intentions was appalling to me, but it made me happier than ever to be where I was. I had been lucky enough to find the man I loved, the one I wanted to spend eternity with, and I hoped that James would relay the news, tell Laurent what he'd seen. I could take care of myself and I would have no problem in doing so if the occasion called for it. It amazed me that he'd actually agreed to teach me his fighting skills, he must have thought I would be willing, that he would gain my trust by doing so. He couldn't have been more wrong, I would have killed him if he'd tried what was in James' mind, and I would have happily accepted the consequences.

Laurent may have never laid a hand on me while I was there, but now I knew his intentions. It would be one more thing to pretend I didn't know. We were keeping our abilities under wraps, there was no need to flaunts our upper hand before we had a chance to use it. It would be hard to wait for the perfect time, keeping the emotions that made me feel this dirty to myself would be difficult, but I would get there.

Edward kissed the top of my head gently, bringing me back to the here and now.

"Are you alright? You're trembling." he asked gently.

"I'm just angry, at myself for trusting him, and at him for trying to exploit my weakness. I'm just glad he never got his chance."

"So am I," Edward whispered, "I think it would have broken you. You are probably emotionally stronger than most of us, but he would have broken your spirit."

I shuddered again, I couldn't believe we were having this conversation, it had thankfully never happened, and I didn't want to dwell on the what if's. I took a deep breath to clear the abhorrent thoughts from my mind, but with the breath came a smell that wrinkled my nose.

"The wolves," I whispered scanning the tree line.

"I know," Edward's face was a blank slate again. "They've come to speak to Carlisle, he invited them."

The two of us ran to the house, I knew that we were in no immediate danger from the wolves but we wanted to find out what was going on. The wolves were coming onto the Cullen's land by invitation, there was something we didn't know.

As soon as we climbed the steps onto the porch, the door was flung open, it was so quick it almost detached from the hinges. There, stood in front of us, was Alice. Her face was contorted with worry and remorse.

"I'm so sorry, by the time I saw him, he was already with you. I don't think he was looking for you though, I would have seen it. I saw him coming to the house, but I saw his decision to speak to you when he saw you. I'm so sorry, I tried to call."

"Alice, it's fine." Edward told her reassuringly. "We didn't even hear him approaching."

Alice looked between the two of us confused by the revelation, but a knowing spread across her face as she realized what must have been going on. Her fresh golden eyes widened and a small smile danced across her lips.

"Carlisle called the wolves, they're here." she whispered in frustration.

"Well, do you think we can come in and catch up before we speak with them?" asked Edward raising his eyebrows.

Alice jumped into action and stepped out of the path of the door. We stepped inside and she pushed it closed gently. I knew Esme wouldn't be happy about the velocity in which she had opened the door before, but I doubted she would reprimand her while so much was going on.

The entire family was gathered in the living room as we strolled in. Rosalie and Emmett had their usual love seat occupied, and Jasper was sat comfortably in an over stuffed chair. Alice was in his lap looking sheepishly at Esme before Edward and I had a chance to make it to the only open seats in the room.

"What happened?" Edward asked as he sat and pulled me down beside him.

"James was heading towards the house to do some surveillance, but he ended up walking into the two of you, Alice thought you were here until she saw his decision to speak with you. The other two are on the move, they know James will find them because of his tracking ability, they seemed to want to stay out of range so we wouldn't know they have your mom, Bella."

"So there's no decision that will help us find her." I said factually, it wasn't a question.

"No, sorry, Bella. They just keep moving, they don't want us or the wolves picking up their scent." Alice apologized. "They have assembled some kind of plan though."

"Which is?" asked Edward impatiently.

"They seem to know you trust Laurent, they were planning on him having your mother, they're hoping you will approach him and offer yourself as a replacement hostage. They know that you would sacrifice yourself for her safety."

As we sat speaking about plans and Alice's ability, my mind began churning. So much had been revealed, it seemed to come in small bursts.

"Alice, I have a question." I said, it probably wasn't the best time but it had just occurred to me.

Alice nodded indicating that I should go on.

"Did you know what Laurent had planned for me, before Jasper and Emmett found me?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Next to me Edward growled, he was glaring at his sister angrily, I knew he'd seen the answer in her mind. Once again I placed my hand on his arm to calm him down. Everyone was so on edge at the moment, I knew it was because of me but I was hoping it would go away when the trouble was finally gone.

"Bella," Alice's face was full of shame, "Yes, I knew. I told Emmett and Jasper to hurry, it was becoming more urgent because you were on your way here, but also because Laurent was making plans, I hid this from Edward. I knew that he would have insisted on going to get you, but I was afraid that if he did, you wouldn't have come because of what had happened. I hope you understand, both of you." She looked to the two of us imploring us to understand.

"Alice, I wasn't upset about it, more curious than anything else. I think you were right about Edward though, I had no idea what I'd done to upset him and I would have run away from him, at least, I think I would have."

Edward looked at me with one eyebrow raised and his crooked grin playing on his lips. I knew how ashamed he felt about our first meeting, but it seemed my honesty was more amusing to him now. I grinned back at him, it was just so easy, being with him. He seemed to love me for who I was, it was exactly the way I felt about him.

"Is anyone going to explain _what_ this Laurent had planned?" Rosalie asked looking aggravated about being left out of the loop.

"I saw it in James' mind," Edward explained looking to the family again. "He was planning on Bella being his mate . . . by force if necessary."

Rosalie's face contorted slightly with her disgust, it was amazing that she still held such beauty with the look she was wearing, I didn't think I would ever get used to it. I knew why she was so upset, Edward had told me a little about her history, and how she was changed. By the look she was wearing, the situation was something of a sore spot for her, one she wouldn't tolerate.

The rest of the family seemed as shocked as Rosalie, Jasper was sat under Alice's small frame looking disgusted, in my time with the family we had become friends. Emmett looked angry, he'd quickly adopted me as his sister, especially since discovering my new identity after the move would be Bella McCarty, I would be his younger sister in name, as well as my family status. Carlisle looked just as angry, he'd accepted me as a member of his family the same as everyone else, he was as fatherly to me as the rest of them. Esme seemed to be the only one with a knowing look, I guessed Alice had gone to her to ask her advice, as so many of us did.

I laughed with a slight hysteric tone, "And I was the idiot that trusted him."

Edward pulled me to him and kissed my forehead, we'd already had this conversation and there really wasn't much more to add to it, he was supporting me once again, and as strong as I wished I was, I would never object to him embracing me, it felt too right. I took that moment to compose myself, the Cullen's appeared to be doing the same.

"The wolves are waiting for us outside." Edward said sighing.

Carlisle was the first to get up, we didn't really have a problem with the wolves being here, it was the smell that was difficult. I hated that the only way I could talk to Jacob was by phone, but I had been happy at our effort to stay in touch. He seemed happy, his life had taken him on the path he needed to go down and he was content. What bothered me was his willingness to fight, I was afraid his gung ho attitude would get him and his pack killed.

We followed Carlisle out to the front of the house and filed down the porch steps where the wolves, all ten of them, stood like horses in a pasture. Jacob was easy to spot. He seemed to be the only one that was relaxed, the rest seemed nervous at our approach.

"Thank you for coming." Carlisle started. "The circumstances have changed with the ones who took Bella. I though we should explain our plans."

The wolves rumbled quietly.

"They want to know if we've changed our minds." Said Edward in a monotone, which alerted me to the fact that he was speaking for the pack.

"No, we haven't changed our minds, but the situation has become more complicated." Carlisle said and looked at me briefly. "Bella, would you care to explain?"

I nodded and stepped forward. The sight ahead of me was intimidating but knowing Jacob was among them eased my panic a little.

"They have my mom. What I would like is for you to stay out of range until we're able to get her away from them. After that, the plan's back on, they will be all yours if you want them." I said confidently.

"Jacob say he'll help you if you need it." Edward said easily.

"I appreciate it, Jacob, but I think you'll be hard to explain to her." I grinned.

There was a chuckling coming from the wolf that was Jacob, and Edward once again spoke for him. "Won't it be hard to explain how you're alive?"

I nodded my head and decided to be honest with the wolves. They were already aware of the others talents, but I had to make sure, so I silently asked Carlisle. He nodded in response.

"I've discovered a small talent that I have. It's nothing huge, but I can change her perception, she'll see all of this as a dream, I can even make her forget if necessary."

There was once again a murmur among the wolves at my revelation, they hadn't been expecting another vampire with an ability.

"I don't use it unless I have to, and I will not alter any of your memories. I thought you had the right to know."

The wolves stood quietly watching me, they seemed to be speaking amongst themselves. The most expressive among them was Jacob.

"Thanks, Bells." Edward said.

I knew the sentiment came from Jacob, he and Charlie were the only ones to ever refer to me as Bells. I smiled at the wolves, hoping they would trust me as much as Jacob seemed to.

Carlisle stepped forward again taking control of the conversation. "These vampires are smart, they will be looking for you, what I need is for you to stay downwind and out of sight, they will scare easily because they expect something."

"Jacob wants to know why they are so desperate to get Bella back." Edward said quietly.

The Cullen's looked at one another, they weren't sure whether I wanted the wolves to know, but Carlisle answered the question as honestly as he could.

"There are a couple of reasons, they believe they have a right to Bella because they changed her, she was a pet to them, one that they felt they were able to manipulate, but Bella has a strong mind and was never as complacent as they believed her to be, the other is that one of them wanted her as a mate . . . he was willing to . . ." Carlisle trailed off at my look, they didn't need to know that much. Unfortunately the ball was already set in motion.

"Willing to what?" said Edward, but his eyes were on me. He approached me slowly and wrapped an arm around my waist supportively. Carlisle looked at me again and I nodded.

"He was willing to take what he wanted by force. These animals have no morals or scruples and you will have to be careful around them."

The collective growl that arose from the wolves was so intimidating I found myself closing the space between myself and Edward. They sounded angry.

"What was that?" I asked my voice barely audible.

"The pack thinks as a group, Jacob was angry at what the words implied, his feelings were strong and it passed through them all." Edward said, just as quietly.

I nodded in understanding and looked to the wolf form of Jacob that was watching me so closely. Edward leaned into me, his mouth was close to my ear.

"Jacob wants to know if he ever touched you." he whispered, his breath tickling my ear.

I looked directly at Jacob and shook my head. Jacob looked at his pack carefully and then headed towards Edward and I. There was a small wave of noise that ran through the pack at Jacob's actions, and I looked to Edward. He smiled at me encouragingly. Jacob stopped about three feet away from us and looked at Edward.

"He wants to know everything that happened." Edward said searching my eyes for answers.

"Nothing happened, Jacob. He protected me from the others, I'm guessing because he was waiting until my strength wore off, luckily the Cullen's were able to save me before that happened."

"He wants to know which one Laurent is." Edward said.

"Jacob, I already told you how skilled he is in combat, please, don't do anything stupid."

"He asked again." Edward said, a small smirk dancing on his lips. I had a feeling whatever Jacob was thinking, Edward would be happy to do the same.

"He's the taller of the two, but, Jacob, please, be careful." I begged now, there was nothing I could do to stop him from fighting. Then inspiration hit. "He trained me, I could show you how his mind works, some of his techniques."

Jacob and Edward looked at one another, I wasn't sure what Jacob was saying, but Edward agreed with him.

"Jacob asked that you demonstrate on one of us, he's worried that his instincts will kick in with your scent being a vampires." Edward relayed for me.

I nodded, I didn't need Jacob breaking the treaty accidentally.

"I'll do it." Emmett said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He'd been trying to wrestle with me since I'd arrived, he was sure he would over power me.

I nodded in agreement, and couldn't stop the grin from spreading across my face. Jacob looked between us and his dark eyes became shrouded by the fur on his brow, he didn't like that I was about to take on the largest Cullen.

"It'll be fine." Edward said to him, a small smile dancing on his lips.

None of the Cullen's had seen me fight and I was a little unsure of doing so now, I knew that the style I had been taught had not followed any particular etiquette, and Laurent himself had been nervous when I had picked it up so easily.

"Okay, Emmett, but I'm warning you, Laurent was a dirty fighter." I said grinning.

"Bring it on, Swan." Emmett laughed.

Rosalie rolled her eyes at her husband and watched as he headed towards me. I met him in the middle, leaving a mere eight feet between us. I took a deep breath and crouched low to the ground, my eyes never leaving Emmett. I had seen him fight many times with his brothers and sisters, I knew I could win this quickly if I wanted to but I was demonstrating something and needed to drag it out as long as I possibly could.

Emmett's body moved quickly into position. I knew which way he would go and I was already anticipating it. I could hear Edward stop breathing behind me as Emmett and I circled one another. I watched every muscle of Emmett's I could see, they would tell me when he was making his move.

Emmett sprung quickly, he took off with his right leg, I knew he would fly to the left of me, I sprang out of his path but spun quickly, kicking him in the ribs. He flew to the ground and landed hard, he slid sideways in the grass before coming to a stop. As soon as he'd stopped moving he was on all fours following me closely with his eyes, his mouth carried a grin, he was enjoying the challenge.

Once again, I watched carefully as he moved slowly around me. This time I stayed still, letting him think he had the upper hand. I kept my eyes on his muscles again. He took off with his right leg again but all of his weight was on his left, he was going to the right. This time I didn't move until he reached out for me.

I fell onto my back this time and as he sailed smoothly over me I reached out for his torso, his velocity pulled me with him. We moved with speed and as I moved from under him, I pushed with my feet until I propelled around him, I was on his back quickly and I brought my teeth to his throat as he slid to a stop.

I stood up, pleased with myself, I hadn't been sure I could take on Emmett but I had done it easily, surprising myself. I looked around the group that was watching, each of them stood open mouthed as I looked around them. Jacob and Edward were still stood side by side looking completely amazed.

I took a step back, away from Emmett and towards the house, I was ready to flee, feeling more embarrassed than I ever had before, and it was made worse by the fact that I had made a fool of myself in front of my new family, and the wolves. I took another step back gaining momentum so I could turn and run.

"Bella," Alice's small graceful voice was heard clearly over the deadened silence. "That was awesome, I've never seen anything like it."

"I have," said Rosalie grinning, "It was very similar to the way Alice fights, just so much quicker and so deceptive. How were you able to predict his moves like that?"

I took a deep breath and looked to Edward who was now grinning at me. "Muscles." was all I was able to get out.

Emmett jumped up from the ground, he looked a little frustrated.

"You alright, Emmett?" I asked.

"Next time Swan, you're mine." he said, his grin back in place.

The wolves still seemed frozen in time, as the family began questioning me, I watched them carefully. They exchanged looks and I wondered if I had finally given them a reality check.

Edward followed my line of sight and laughed. "Don't worry, Love. They are just going through the moves in their head trying to decide how to get around it. Jacob has some questions for you."

* * *

**A/N: Happy Tuesday ;o) . . . Hope you enjoyed, James continues to play games and Laurent is just as big an ass as he was in the original, who saw that coming? (I DID!) lol. **

**Thank you for the Alerts and Faves and thank you to the REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS REALLY, REALLY INSPIRE ME AND YOU ALL ROCK AWESOMELY!**

**BIG HUGZ-L-**


	14. Chapter 13 Spontaneous

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesomely Awesome Stephenie Meyer (17 Days till Breaking Dawn!)**_

* * *

**Chapter 13 - Spontaneous**

The wolves finally left after a couple of hours, they had so many question and I had so much more to show them. I had used each of the Cullen's as an example, well, all except Esme and Rosalie anyway. I couldn't bring myself to attack Esme she was too maternal, and Rosalie, she intimidated me.

Edward and I had been at it the longest, we seemed well matched, and he was so much quicker than the rest of them I couldn't get a hold of him. Alice was incredible, it was almost a little scary. Our fights would turn into intricate dances as we countered one another's moves. In the end we had to call it a tie, we were both pleased with the outcome.

I didn't lose sight of why we were doing this, no matter how much fun we were having wrestling, I never forgot that I was teaching them to protect themselves. I couldn't forget, it was eating away at me, the worry for my mother, the worry for my new family and friends if they were stuck in a physical confrontation.

This was all happening because of me, I was beginning to feel like the root of all evil, like I was drawing in the danger and confrontation, I was just hoping that it would pass when James and the others were taken care of, I didn't like how uncomfortable it made me.

Each of the family was still surprised at the result I was getting when I fought, once the wolves had gone, they persuaded me to teach them as much as I could, they were fascinated. Laurent had been a good teacher, and he knew that I had picked it up well, I doubted he was concerned about me using it just yet, that would wait until I was able to confront him the way I wanted to.

I was sure he still had some things up his sleeves, he was intelligent, living for longer than two centuries had taught him a thing or two. He knew I was learning fast and he'd cut me off before I could have overpowered him, now I knew why, and it made me angry, even more so when I dwelled on it for too long.

It was going to be a challenge, facing Laurent and following what they had planned for me, they thought they knew me well, and if it hadn't been for the talents of my new family, I very well may have played directly into their hands. Unfortunately for them, I did know, and I was going to use everything I had against them. I wanted them to suffer as much as they had made me suffer during my time with them, I wanted to take out every frustration I had on them.

I had to stop thinking about this, I was a nonviolent person and this was bringing out a side of me I never knew I had. It was making me vindictive and bitter, and I had never been that way.

Edward, who was practicing his new moves on Jasper, must have noticed something was wrong. He was by my side in an instant, his arms wrapped around my waist and his forehead met with mine. His eyes searched mine for the answers to his questions.

"Are you alright, love?" he whispered. His breath was intoxicating.

"Yes, just thinking." I sighed, there was no lying to him when he was in such close proximity to me, so I found myself dancing around the truth instead.

"What's bothering you?"

"Am I that easy to read?" I asked smiling. "If I didn't know better, I would think you were reading my mind."

"No, sorry, you're still silent to me, except of course when you invite me in."

I grinned at his words, I wasn't sure whether he was fishing for a free pass into my mind or simply stating the obvious.

"I'm just annoyed," I confessed, "I've let them get to me, and they're making me into something I don't like."

"What's that?" Edward asked curiously.

"Vengeful, violent, and bitter."

Edward's hand moved up my cheek and he closed his eyes, he looked so upset, I felt guilty about being honest.

"That's not who you are, Bella." Edward sighed, "I will never see you like that. These animals, are not worth getting upset about. From what I saw of James' mind, he lives for this, he wants you to feel like that, that way you'll put up a fight and he and Victoria get what they want."

I sighed and placed my hand over his, the one that was still holding my cheek delicately. He always seemed to make me feel better about things.

"I love you, Edward Cullen." I said pensively

"And I love you, Bella Swan."

"That's Bella McCarty to you, brother." Emmett said slapping Edward on the back making us both rock on our feet.

Edward's eyes lit up and he stepped away from me, I could tell he was going to challenge Emmett by the playful grin he was giving me. He spun around and punched Emmett's arm, the impact sent out a deafening crack. Emmett's eyebrows rose on his forehead as he grinned back at Edward. There was always a consistent rivalry between them, but it never escalated above a playful brotherly banter.

I rolled my eyes at the two of them before heading over to Rosalie who seemed just as enthused as I was about the impromptu wrestling match.

"Why do they always break out into neanderthals at the most inappropriate times?" she sighed. "You would think, being vampires, they would be less likely to lose themselves to the primal idiocy of human ancestry, but no their testosterone escalates when they're within a foot of one another. It never fails."

I laughed at her rant, Rosalie was perhaps the only person who could put such an eloquent insult together, she never ceased to amaze me. Rosalie placed her arm around my shoulder and leaned into me, her mouth was close to my ear.

"But I have never seen Edward so happy, Bella. I'm glad you're here." she whispered.

"Thanks, Rosalie." I said just as quietly. I knew that it couldn't have been easy for her to put her emotions towards me into words. Rosalie, as beautiful and statuesque as she was, had a hard time with friendships and putting her feelings into words. So this was huge for her.

"Break it up boys, playtimes over." Rosalie called out to them.

Neither of them listened and continued. Currently, Edward and Emmett were circling again. I laughed at Rosalie's face, her perfect eyebrows rose on her forehead, she hated being ignored, especially by Emmett.

"Watch this," she whispered quietly to me.

"I guess someone _wants _to lose his bedroom privileges." she sighed loudly shrugging her shoulders. She winked at me quickly before spinning on her heel and strolling towards the house.

Emmett, hearing the connotation immediately followed, leaving Edward chuckling in the middle of the meadow. I had to admit, Rosalie knew how to get Emmett moving, if I had to guess, I would say sex was her greatest weapon. It wasn't hard to tell that Rosalie and Emmett had a healthy marriage, after all, we did live in the same house.

Alice was beside me quickly, she had been quiet for most of the afternoon, and it concerned me a little. Alice was one of the most buoyant people I had ever met, it made her silence all the more ominous.

"Everything okay, Alice?" I asked as I watched Edward stroll back towards us slowly.

"Fine," she said dully.

"It doesn't sound like it, Alice. What's the matter?"

Alice's amber eyes turned on me full force, her bottom lip was jutted out into a pout, her face was heartbreaking, I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hug her but Edward growled from where he was stood, and her expression immediately changed into frustration.

"What's going on?" I asked planting my hands on my hips, Edward had obviously seen what Alice had been planning to ask me and he seemed furious at her.

"Nothing," Alice said smiling at me. She shot Edward a death look before stomping away lightly.

"What was that?" I asked as Edward approached me.

"That was angry Alice." he laughed as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." I laughed.

"She saw something," he sighed. "But it's something she needs to keep to herself for now."

My stomach flipped at the tone of his voice, his eyes were aimed directly at Alice who was stood with Jasper, she stuck out her tongue at him before turning away. Edward chuckled lightly before kissing my forehead.

"She'll be okay," Edward laughed, "Believe me, she's chattering away to me in my head."

I raised my eyebrows at him, I could tell I was becoming part of the family because I felt annoyed at being left out of the loop. This seemed to be between Alice and Edward alone, so I let it drop, for now.

Alice kept her distance from me for the rest of the day, it was making me nervous. She had constantly been my companion since I arrived, in fact my time was normally split between her and Edward. For her to stay away for so long meant something was wrong. When Edward was in the shower, I had wandered downstairs to watch the television, hoping to keep my mind off of the impending situation, Alice was sat in the living room, as soon as I entered she got up to leave.

"Alice, please, did I do something wrong?" I asked, before she could escape me.

"No, Bella." Alice smiled sheepishly.

"Then why do you leave a room when I enter it?"

"I don't," Alice looked like she was ready to explode in excitement, she was almost vibrating on the spot.

"Alice, what aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing,"

"Exactly, spit it out before you spontaneously combust."

"I. Can't." she said biting her lip, then she disappeared from the room in a black and white streak. I shook my head in confusion. I could understand that there was something she was obviously wanting to share with me but she couldn't, but I didn't understand her need to stay away from me, and if I was being completely honest it was hurting my feeling a little.

I fell into the couch and picked up the remote, I would get it out of her, I could even make her . . .

"Oh, don't you dare, Bella." I heard Alice almost shout down the stairs.

I laughed to myself, I should have known she would see that. She was the psychic in the family after all. I don't think I would have ever forced it out of her, no matter how much I teased her about it.

Whatever it was would have to wait. I couldn't keep my mind from what was happening right now, right here in Forks. James and the others were here and I needed to keep vigilant. They had Renee and I would n't be able to rest until I knew she was safe. Alice would see the moment that they decided to make a move, but I planned on being prepared.

I had gone through this so many times in my head that I was sure I could do it blindfolded, but I wanted the upper hand, I wanted to be stronger than them, they'd had such a hold on me for the past year, I refused to let them have that now.

I heard Edward coming down the stairs before he joined me in the living room, his hair was still damp but was tousled to perfection, he looked like a supermodel. I would never get used to him and his perfection. It was a little intimidating at times.

"What was Alice talking about?" he asked as he lay on the couch next to me, his head coming to rest on my lap.

I laughed. "I was thinking bad thoughts, she ran away from me so I was thinking about using my little gift to make her spit it out, but she saw the decision."

"Isabella Swan," he said looking up at me with mock horror.

"What?" I said scrunching my nose in my embarrassment, "I never would have done it."

Edward chuckled lightly before wrapping one of his arms around my waist. My hand went to his beautiful bronze hair and ran through it gently. He hummed hungrily through his lips at my touch, the sound brought a smile to my lips, he was enjoying the tenderness of the moment. I felt his arm around my waist tighten, and I pressed my lips together to stop myself from sighing in contentment, I was sure it would make the situation all the more amorous.

There was so much passion between us in even the slightest of touches, our bodies seemed to respond to one another. Every time he touched my body I felt the tingling of the heat it left behind, even though we were both as cold as stone.

The passion between us made me forget everything, my mind couldn't focus on anything other than him, whenever we kissed the world disappeared and only the two of us were left behind, lost in one another, I had never wanted to give myself to someone as completely as I did to him.

"Whatever your thinking, Bella, it must be scandalous, you look miles away." he sighed, sitting up.

He placed one arm on the other side of me, his torso was leaning across me and his head was now level with mine. He was breathtaking to me.

I lent forward and kissed him gently, I wanted it to be soft and tender so I could reflect everything I was feeling in that moment.

Edward's hand reached behind my neck and pulled me closer, his hands tangled in my hair, as he kissed me with a little more force. I could feel myself melting into his touch, it was so pure, so real, and every ounce of newly discovered love we had for one another flowed between us like an electrical current.

My hands held onto the sides of his body, I could feel the muscles as they tensed at my touch. It was evident that we had the same involuntary reaction to one another, it was like two magnets pulling one another closer. I couldn't help but think we were made for one another. I constantly felt this way, I ached for him. Our lips slowed gently and as they parted our eyes flickered open and met, his beautiful ochre eyes were smoldering.

"What was that for?" he smiled, his hand playing gently with the hair on the nape of my neck.

I just grinned, I couldn't say anything to him, I'd lost my voice. All I could think was how he was my life now, everything I didn't know I wanted wrapped up in this perfect man.

"Bella?"

"Sorry," I whispered, still trying to find my voice.

His crooked grin spread widely across his face.

"What?" I asked, confused at his sudden elation.

"Thank you." he whispered.

"For?" I asked confused.

"You just let me into your mind."

I could feel my eyes growing wide, I must have let my guard down giving him full access to what I was thinking and feeling in this moment. I'd never been more glad that I couldn't blush, I would have been scarlet by now.

"Don't," he whispered, before kissing the tip of my nose. "Please, don't be embarrassed."

"I . . ."

He silenced me with a kiss, he was trying to distract me and it was working. I tried to collect my thoughts but they revolved around the two of us. I wasn't sure if it was possible to be addicted to a person, but I certainly felt like I was, he intoxicated me.

The kiss had ended long before I opened my eyes. I couldn't bring myself back to my reality, for now I was happy lost in the heaven that was Edward.

He chuckled gently as he traced the lines of my face, his body moved lightly pulling me to him, into the enclosure of his arms. I lay against him with my head on his chest.

"Bella," he whispered my name with such conviction, I let my eyes flutter open. I smiled at the longing in his eyes.

"Bella, I didn't want to do this now, not with everything so crazy, but here, now with you. There couldn't be a more perfect time."

I tried to read the look behind his eyes, but he was unreadable. I smiled encouragingly at him letting him know it was safe to go on.

"Bella, I have been alone for over a century, I never thought I needed anyone, I never wanted anyone, then, when I saw you, across the cafeteria, everything changed. I wish I could go back and change what happened, but I can't. I thought I'd lost you forever, but then Jacob came to us, and we knew we had to find you. When I saw you again, I knew I never wanted to let you go, and the more time I spend with you, the more I fall in love with you. You are so pure and beautiful, I can't imagine this existence without you in my life to share it with."

I smiled at him and let my hand stroke his cheek gently, he had just put into words, everything I felt about him.

"I know this is probably insane, but I never want to let you go again, so, Bella, what I am asking you, here, now, is will you become my wife and let me love you for eternity?"

The world felt like it had stopped turning on it's axis in this one moment, if my heart had been beating it would have stopped, my throat felt like it was swelling and my stomach flipped around inside of my body.

I was happy, I had been brought up with the notion that marriage wasn't something to rush into, that it was ultimately a bad thing, but thinking about an eternity with Edward by my side, could never be a bad thing. He was all I ever wanted, all I would ever want, he made me whole.

Still unable to say a word, I nodded I could feel my cheeks as they become swollen with my smile, Edward looked as though he was glowing with happiness and I couldn't contain my own.

Alice had her arms wrapped around my within seconds, I hadn't even seen her enter the room, she was like a tornado in her movements. She stepped away from me and nodded at Edward.

Edward rolled his eyes but his smile was glorious. He pulled me up from the couch and took a knee in front of me. He pulled a small black box from his pocket and held it up to me.

"Bella, will you marry me?"

"Yes," I said my voice almost cracking from the emotion.

Alice was squealing beside me, and it wasn't long until the entire family had piled into the room. Esme looked as though she wanted to sob and Carlisle held her tightly smiling proudly at his son.

Edward slipped the ring onto my finger and it fit perfectly. I pulled him to his feet and kissed him with everything I had, his strong arms pulled me closer. Yes it was fast, yes, it may be crazy, but it felt so right, so natural, like it had always meant to be.

I held my left hand up and admired the ring, it was beautiful, oval in the center surrounded by a nest of diamonds, I had never seen anything like it.

"Edward, it's beautiful." I gasped pulling it in for a closer look.

"I hope you don't mind it was my mothers, I was able to save it before the bank took ownership of our house. It was one of the few possessions I was able to save."

I kissed him on the lips, "It makes it all the more perfect," I whispered.

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**A/N: ahem, well, I guess I know it was quick, but I was going with what Esme said about vampire love . . . I guess they were each others lobsters (Sorry I guess that's for the 'Friends' fans out there) It was such an honest moment between them I couldn't help it ;0) I also implore you to listen to the song that goes along with it, I have a link on my profile. Pieces by Red ;0)**

**Thanks for the alerts and faves, you guys are awesome. And to the REVIEWERS . . . CAN I SAY IT ENOUGH? YOU ROCK . . . SERIOUSLY HARDCORE ROCK!**

**BIG HUGZ - L-**


	15. Chapter 14 Polar Opposites

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer (16 Days Till Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 14 - Polar Opposites**

"Bella," Alice pulled my attention away from Edward. I looked at the grin that was spread widely across her face before turning back to Edward. He rolled his eyes at me before smiling. I knew she was mentally bombarding him with her pleading, now there seemed to be nothing stopping her from asking what she had been so desperately trying not to.

"Yes, Alice?" I said smiling at her sweetly.

"Can I speak with you, please?"

Once again, she was practically vibrating with excitement, I knew this had to be the reason for her excitement today, but I couldn't understand what else she would have to add. It piqued my curiosity. So I nodded.

Edward let go of me reluctantly, and kissed my neck gently before I could step away. My legs almost went numb at the pleasure the touch sent through me. I grinned at him before silently following Alice from the room.

She led me to the front porch, and stopped, turning on me, her eyes flashing the excitement she was trying to retain. I laughed at her, watching as she tried to form the words she wanted to say. She seemed to be fighting with herself on how to word this.

"Bella, how much do you love me?" she said wide eyed.

"Alice, insurmountably, why?" I asked a little confused.

Alice pressed her lips together, trying to suppress the smile she wanted to flash at me. She was trying to be serious, but her attempts were unsuccessful.

"I was wondering, I know that you really can't invite anyone, but I would love, love, love to plan the wedding for you, I promise, nothing big or elaborate, I just want to make it special for you."

I really didn't see a problem with this considering everyone I would have invited thought I was dead, but I decided to have my fun while I could.

"Hmm, Alice," I started, but the look on her face was devastating and I just couldn't do it to her. Her wide tawny eyes were full of pleading and it struck a nerve, breaking my resolve. "I would love you to." I finished flashing her a smile.

I hadn't been prepared for her reaction, and anyone seeing this would think she _had_, in fact, combusted. She was dancing around me at an amazing rate of speed, and her musical laughter surrounded me. I caught her on her third pass, she was beginning to make me dizzy.

"Calm down, Alice." I laughed. "You do realize how small this will be, don't you?"

"Ah, Bella, but it can still be beautiful." she sang happily. "I have so much to do."

Alice was gone, but I heard Edward's chuckle behind me, and I turned and grinned at him. "Is that why she's been avoiding me all day?" I asked wrapping my arms around his waist.

"She's been trying to find a way to ask, without giving away what I was planning. She's been begging me all day. That's why she was so upset earlier, she thought she'd found a loop hole, but I still wouldn't let her ask"

I laughed, I couldn't see how she would have got around it. How can you ask to plan someone's wedding, when they aren't aware they're getting married. I let it go, she had gotten her way for now and was happy, more importantly she was no longer avoiding me.

Edward and I spent the evening listening to Alice chatter about what she wanted to do and how she was panning on getting everything done. I knew this was only the beginning, but I felt like it was significant somehow, because it was the beginning of our lives together.

As the evening wore on, my happiness was short lived, and Alice's excitement was reined in, she finally saw something we'd been waiting for. James and the others were planning on making their move, it was going to be sooner rather than later.

It didn't really seem like a bad thing for me, I was surprised at the relief, it seemed we had been waiting so long for them to do something. My mothers safety had been burning in my mind all day, and if I thought about it honestly, it had taken away some of my joy of the proposal. Edward hadn't wanted to propose while this hung over our heads, but the moment he had chosen was perfect, it was a moment of honesty between us.

I knew Renee was safe because I had bugged Alice to check more often than was necessary, James needed her to make his plan work, so she would be well looked after until she was brought to me. This was the only comfort I had in the situation, and I knew, without a doubt, that I could get her away from them, I just had to make sure it was quickly. I didn't want them catching on, their instincts would kick in and there was a chance they could run with her. I wouldn't take any chances with my mothers life.

We had eight hours until they would make their appearance, Alice saw daylight when they arrived, for now, it was one am and daylight would be the last thing to appear.

"You can do this, Bella." Edward whisper, I knew I was staring blankly at the window wall in the living room, but my eyes refused to focus.

"I'm just worried, I know them too well to think this could be easy." I sighed. "They could change their minds and hide her before coming, they would have no problem knocking her out and tying her up."

I could feel the panic rising in me as the new scenarios welled up inside of me, there was over a hundred scenarios that they could pull off, my mind was on overtime and there was nothing I could do to quieten it. We needed a backup plan. I always did this, convince myself everything was fine and then find something to worry about. It wasn't as if I enjoyed the drama, but unfortunately, this included my mom, and they knew they held one of my weaknesses in their hands. They could be relentless, and I doubted they would show me any kindness now.

I looked to Edward, his expression told me that my thoughts weren't completely unwarranted. This, made me even more nervous, it meant he saw the possibilities.

"Alice," his voice cut through the room urgently, every eye was on us. "Do you see them going through any other plans, or are they sticking with the one they have?"

Alice's eyes glazed over momentarily as she searched for their decisions. It didn't take her long to find them.

"They're not sure, they're coming but the circumstances keep changing." she said quietly. Her eyes flickered to me.

"They're deciding whether or not to bring my mother, aren't they?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Alice nodded, sympathy was etched across her face. This would also make the plans with the wolves more difficult. There were really only two possibilities of how this could go down. Either they brought my mother with them and I made them forget her, or I go with them, make them forget her and distract them while she escaped.

"No, Bella." Alice's voice rang shrilly through the room, I knew she'd just seen my decision.

"It's the only options we have, Alice."

"Bella, there has to be another way." Edward said pulling me towards him. I knew he'd seen my decision through Alice's mind.

"There isn't, they won't give up and come back with her, they'll instigate a fight, and if we kill them, we may never find her. If they tell me they have her and I refuse to go with them, they'll know somethings wrong, believe me, I have gone through every scenario, this will be the only way it can work out to our advantage."

"Our advantage?" Carlisle had picked up on my key point.

"Yes, _our_ advantage. They haven't factored in my gift, I can give you directions, I really don't think they'll obscure my vision, they don't know that I can still communicate with you. The only problem being I don't know how far away I can reach you."

Carlisle paced the room quickly, I knew he was trying to form a plan. I was sure he was also factoring in the wolves.

"Give me one minute." he said disappearing from the room.

I looked at Edward, he seemed to be surprised at Carlisle's thoughts but in agreeance with them all the same. Carlisle was back in the room quickly, his cell phone in hand.

"La Push is about fifteen miles from here, I'm going to call Jacob and see if he'll allow you to talk to him through your mind."

I nodded, hoping that the plan would work.

"Jacob?" Carlisle's voice filled the now silent room, his voice filled with the urgency and trepidation that we all felt.

"It's Carlisle."

There was a pause as Jacob spoke into the phone.

"Yes and no, they're planning on being here tomorrow, but we need your help with something else for now."

Jacob obviously agreed.

"There is a chance they won't bring Bella's mom with them tomorrow and she may be forced to leave with them."

I could hear the buzzing on the other end of the phone, Jacob seemed to dislike the idea.

"I understand that, Jacob. We do have a plan of sorts but we need to test the theory before we can execute it. Would you be willing to let Bella speak to you through her mind, now? We need to see if her ability is limited by distance."

Carlisle looked at me and nodded. I took a deep breath and thought as hard as I could about Jacob, I then spoke a sentence in my mind, 'Jacob if you hear me, repeat this, Twenty-Four, Nineteen, Ten. I said repeating the numbers I had used when we tested Carlisle's theory after discovering my talent.

Carlisle's face lit up as he turned to me.

"Twenty-Four, nineteen, ten?" Carlisle said smiling at me.

I gave him the thumbs up and nodded.

"Thanks, Jacob."

I could hear the buzzing again in the phone, it seemed Jacob was animated in his conversation with Carlisle, and Edward, listening through Carlisle's mind, seemed almost shocked.

"What is it?" I asked. Curious about the conversation.

"Jacob wants you to give the directions to him as well. The wolves plan on sticking to the original plan and wait down wind. If you need to follow them, he wants you to include him when you give us the directions, that way they can do what they need to when you get out with Renee."

I raised my eyebrows, it seemed the wolves were as eager to take down the small coven as the rest of us were. I nodded towards Carlisle to let him know that I would include Jacob, in the event that I had to, in fact, leave with James and the others.

Carlisle hung up the phone after agreeing to include Jacob, and ultimately the wolves in the plan. Once again we were prepared, and I felt a little more comfortable now that the contingencies seemed to be taken care of.

Edward still wasn't so sure. He didn't like that there was a chance I would be alone with them again, especially knowing Laurent's intentions towards me, but I swore to him I would alert him if anything happened, even if we hadn't reached my mother yet. It was a small lie, but one that I needed to tell so I could get my mother back safely, I would do what I had to, and I had the tools to help me out of the situation, I could persuade Laurent otherwise, even if it did get too close for comfort.

Now it was a waiting game, one that played in the back of our minds as the hands on the clock moved so slowly they could have been going backwards. Edward never left my side, he was still upset about the plan of me leaving willingly with them. He didn't like the idea, no one particularly did, but it was my only option, and I knew the Cullen's would never be too far away from me.

The living room of the large white house was becoming oppressive with the anticipation, it was palpable as we sat silently, waiting. It was as if we were waiting to be led to the gallows, no one doubted that we had the upper hand, but there was always room for mistakes and last minute decisions that no one would see. The uncertainty of the situation was what was bothering us all so much. Even Rosalie seemed more agitated than usual, her foot was tapping so quickly it created a breeze.

I felt like I was losing my mind a little sitting so still, I needed to get out, to fill my lungs with the unneeded fresh air that I craved. As big and airy as this room was I felt like I was suffocating.

"I'm going outside." I said standing up quickly.

Edward was by my side as we passed through the room quickly. He was concerned, I could feel it emanating from him as we headed down the porch steps.

"I'm fine, Edward." I sighed, lowering myself to sit on the bottom step.

Edward sat next to me silently, and I realized that it was him who wasn't fine. He was the one suffering. I took his hand in mine and kissed it gently, letting my eyes wander to his. They were filled with pain and anxiety.

"Edward, I'll be fine." I laughed once trying to make it seem alright.

It wasn't fine, and he knew it, just as much as I did, he searched my eyes, I knew what he wanted but I couldn't give it to him now. If he was in my mind for one second, he would know that I planned on staying with them no matter what happened, because I needed my mother safe. If he saw that, he would never let me go.

It was strange, our moods were a complete polar opposite of what they had been mere hours ago. Now, with the elation a distant memory and the ominous gloom that was settling heavily upon us ever more apparent, I wanted to hold onto this moment, it was more proof of the love that was between us, Edward was showing his weakness, and it seemed to be me. I was the one thing that he couldn't stand to lose, I knew this all to well because it reflected my feelings perfectly.

I didn't know how things were going to turn out, the only person who had any kind of answer was Alice, and she could only see the future based on decisions. I had to believe that things would work out though, it was the only way I could get through this. As strong as we all were there was always a chance that things could go wrong, nothing was set in stone, and it scared me.

As Edward and I sat on the steps together, the sky began to finally lighten. We both knew what it meant and it made us need the gap that was between us closed. Edward's around wrapped around my shoulder tightly and I willingly fell into him. I was breathing in his scent committing it to memory. His head was leaning gently atop of mine.

"I hate this." he whispered into my hair.

"I know, I do too." I sighed.

This was going to be as hard for Edward as it was for me. He had to pretend not to hear their thoughts, which would mean he couldn't react to that. It was going to make it all that much harder to deal with. I knew that if I had to leave with them, which still wasn't a certainty, but if I did, there was a chance Laurent's thoughts may not be so pure, and I was worried about Edward's reaction to that.

Alice had already promised me that she would keep an eye on their decision, I was hoping that if they did decide to hide Renee somewhere, Alice would see it and we could bypass them altogether and let the wolves have their fun. Alice's only comment to this was, they seemed to have stopped somewhere and never really made the decision to do so, and if they left my mother there, she would see the decision, but not the place. I hated to think where they were holed up at the moment, especially knowing their usual tastes.

Edward and I sat silently again listening to one another breathe. It was better outside, the air helped clear my head a little and I felt less oppressed. The close proximity of Edward helped too. For once, I was glad to lose myself in him.

The feeling didn't last too long though, Edward's body solidified as he froze, his arms were as stiff as marble around me and I knew Alice was seeing something, this was his reaction to something he didn't like, something that made him uneasy.

"They're coming, aren't they?" I whispered, knowing the answer.

"We have to go inside." he said, I could tell his jaw was tight without looking at him, his words were too forced for it not to be.

His grip slackened on me and I shuffled away from him as he stood up. I took his hand as I stood and sighed. It was really going to happen, I just hoped that it would work out the way I wanted it to. The door to the house opened before we got to it, and the look on Alice's face told me we weren't that lucky, her eyes told me everything I needed to know. I would have to walk into the lions den, they'd left my mother wherever they had been, and this would be the only way to get her back.

"Alice," Edward's voice was hard and cold, but it wasn't directed towards her, "Where are they?"

"They're coming here, and they're moving quickly. I'm sorry, Bella, I couldn't see where they were keeping your mom. She's fine, but they tied her up. I couldn't see anything I recognized."

I nodded, it was something I had expected, but it didn't stop the dark, cold shiver from working it's way down my spine. I tried to stop the shudder that threatened to accompany it, Edward had his arm around my waist and would feel it.

We stepped into the quiet house, Carlisle was sat with his phone in his hand which told me that he'd alerted the wolves, everyone else sat quietly. Even Emmett who loved challenges seemed a little less enthused than normal. I felt it was my responsibility to feed the room with a little optimism.

"Well, at least we know what we have to do now," I said trying to sound enthusiastic.

"That doesn't help you though, Bella." Alice said dully.

"Of course it does, Alice, you can look out for me, you'll know what decisions they make, if you need to move in you can. I have the ability to keep you updated now, I can tell you where I am, and if it's necessary, I can allow Edward constant access to my thoughts. It'll all work out, we still have the upper hand here, we need to use it wisely. They don't know that any of us have abilities, we have that going for us."

A small but distant smile appeared on Alice's lips, she wasn't completely convinced but she could see some of what I was saying was true, we had the element of surprise and we could use it against them at any time.

"Where are they?" I asked quietly.

"They'll be here within ten minutes, they're moving quickly. Bella, are you sure you want to play it out like this?" Alice asked losing her optimism as quickly as she had gained it.

"Yes, I will be able to get my mom to safety and James, Victoria and Laurent will finally be out of my life, permanently." I said taking a deep breath, "It's not the only way we can do this, but it's the quickest, safest and most efficient. Please, don't worry about me, I traveled with them long enough to know them. I have more knowledge and a gift to help me now. You have to trust me enough to know I will tell you everything I can as it happens."

"Bella, we trust you unequivocally, it's the others we don't trust." said Esme gently.

"I know that," I smiled at Esme warmly, "But if I need help I will tell you, the only way to get what we want, is to let them think they're winning."

"It doesn't stop us from worrying about you though," Edward said quietly.

"Exactly, Bella, you're part of the family now, and we're not willing to lose you over this." Esme finished, her maternal nature shining through once again.

"I appreciate that, believe me, I really do, but I can't risk losing Renee." I sighed. "It'll be easier for me to live my life knowing she's safe."

Edward's arm wrapped around my waist and he kissed my temple gently. It was his way of telling me he understood. I knew they weren't suggesting that I completely forget the predicament Renee was in right now, in fact they were trying to tell me they would find another way to help her, but to me, this was the only way it could happen successfully, and this way, I could say goodbye, wipe her memory of James and his coven and say the goodbye the way I wanted to and leave it as a dream.

"They're here." Alice whispered and looked out of the window. Everyone in the room stood and made their way to the window. Outside, moving towards the house quickly, was Laurent, James and Victoria. I felt Edward's hand slip into mine, and I wrapped my fingers around his, glad of the support.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked softly.

"As I'll ever be," I sighed and headed towards the door.

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**A/N: You guys are awesome, I had a couple of questions from some you that I hope this chapter answered ;0) The next couple of chapters should be exciting. . .  
**

**I want to thank you for the Alerts and Faves, and to the REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS REALLY DO ROCK IN EVERY SINGLE WAY, YOU ARE AWESOME THANK YOU, . . . AND ONE FOR THE ROAD . . . YOU ROCK!**

**BIG HUGZ -L-**


	16. Chapter 15 Retrograde

_**all things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer (4 Days 7 hrs until Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 15 - Retrograde**

I had to take a deep breath before I stepped out of the house, I knew I had to keep my thoughts to myself, I was easy to read and they knew it.

I pulled the door open still holding on to Edward's hand for support. I stepped out into the gray morning, Laurent's eyes were large when he saw me step out. He was also trying to keep himself composed. His eyes flickered from our hands to our faces trying to read the situation. I could almost see his mind working, I knew James had said something, and this seemed to confirm his suspicions.

"Bella," Laurent's voice reached me and it took everything I had not to scrunch up my face in disgust and give away my emotions. "I've been so worried, are you alright?"

I nodded at him and smiled, I was still trying to compose myself, but it was time for me to speak.

"I'm well, thank you Laurent," Edward's hand tightened around mine, I wasn't sure if it was because of Laurent's thoughts, or because I was speaking with him in such a kind tone. No matter how forced that tone was

"I'm sorry I left so quickly, I wanted to say goodbye to you, but I knew James would never let me leave."

Laurent's face lit up, I was sure they were worried about how I would react to him, my kind tones seemed to please them. Laurent made his eyes kind as he smiled at me, but I could see that my continuing contact with Edward was bothering him. James' eyes narrowed at his name and his head crept to the side.

"Bella, I thought we had an understanding." he laughed.

"No, James. I never had an understanding with you, Laurent was the only one who ever gave a damn about my safety while I was with you. Did you really think I enjoyed my time with you. You and your _mate_, never treated me any better that an inconvenient pet." I spat, I had to take deep breaths to control myself, I didn't want to say too much.

The rest of the Cullen's filed out of the house behind us and formed a crescent around Edward and I. Edward was still holding onto my hand and squeezing it. I could feel how tense he was through the small amount of contact we had.

"Bella, I would have taken care of you." Laurent said in his softest tone.

"I know you would have, Laurent, and I will always be thankful to you for that, but I had to move on, I couldn't live like that anymore."

Laurent took a step forward and I felt Edward's entire body jerk as though he was about to pounce. I laid my left hand on his arm, not really thinking about how it would look to the others. I had forgotten myself, my moms face ran through my mind, but the gesture seemed to work. It had crossed my mind that they would realize something was wrong, but they didn't see it that way at all, in fact, Laurent saw me as protecting him.

"Bella, there is no need to protect me. You know I can look after myself." Laurent laughed, he took another step forward. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come with us though."

"Never," Edward said through his teeth and wrapped his arm around me tightly.

"I'm afraid it's her choice," Laurent hissed. He didn't like that Edward had closed the small gap between us.

"I appreciate you giving me a choice Laurent, but I want to stay here." I said smiling at him as warmly as I could through my disgust. My hand was on Edward's back now rubbing gently circles, trying to keep him calm.

"But, Bella, don't you want your gift?" James' voice was thick with implications now, and if I hadn't known what he was talking about I would have been curious. He was playing with me again.

"I already told you James, I'm not interested in anything _you_ have for me."

Victoria laughed bitterly, she rested a hand on James' arm as she stepped forward. "You were right James, she has grown more confident." her nasal voice was chipping away at me, she still made my skin crawl. "How fun."

"I thought you would have been happy about my leaving, Victoria, you never really hid how you felt about me." I said eyeing her cautiously.

Victoria's smile disappeared and she stepped forward. This time there were three snarls behind me. Alice, Esme and Rosalie were showing their distaste towards Victoria. Their faces were vicious, my love for my new family surged through me giving me a renewed strength. Victoria stepped back, shocked at the resistance the Cullen's were giving her.

"Believe me, Bella, the feeling is still mutual, but you should have know we would never let you walk away."

"I don't think that was your choice to make." I said in a bored tone.

Victoria's eyes darkened and she narrowed them, she was focused solely on me now, I knew she wanted to pounce and I would have gladly goaded her more, but I needed to think about Renee.

"I'm afraid, we're going to have to ask you to leave." Carlisle said calmly with authority. "It seems Bella's made her choice, so there's really no reason for you to stay."

"I beg to differ." snarled James.

"Are we going to have to remove you?" asked Emmett stepped forward out of line, his voice was rough and his words came as a growl, my affection once again surged through me in that moment.

James laughed again, "No, but I think Bella will want to come with us when she knows what we have for her."

I looked to Laurent now, he was wearing an apologetic smile on his face, one I knew was for my benefit, but I had to play into their hands. Laurent took another step forward, but Edward grew more uncomfortable the closer he became, his body tensed, his arm was a lead weight around my shoulders. I continued to rub his back in soothing circles.

"I'm sorry, Bella, I really couldn't stop them." he said quietly. He eyed James and Victoria briefly. The looked like wild animals together, and their excitement was very clear.

"What are you talking about, Laurent?" I asked looking between him and James.

"Bella, they have something that you want."

I took a step forward, out of Edward's arms. I tried reverting to my former self, trying to remember how I would act, how I would play into their deceptions.

Edward pulled on my hand, it gave the moment the effect I had been hoping for. I needed to stall them for just a while so the wolves could get here and pick up their scent. It was another backup for our plan, if the did blindfold me, the wolves could follow the scent. It had been Jacob's idea.

I backed up into Edward and he wrapped his arms around my waist. Laurent's face fought to hold the composure, this was the most affectionate he had seen me with Edward, but I knew he would never say aloud how he felt about what he was seeing, it would ruin the trust they thought I had with him.

"Laurent, please, tell me what's going on." I whispered quietly, knowing he would hear me.

"They have your mother, sweetheart"

Edward's arms tightened around my waist, it was in response to the pet name Laurent had used but it gave the effect that the news was a surprise to us. I let my face drop, and my body go limp in Edward's arms so he had to support me, he turned me in his arms and pulled me to his chest, I buried my face there and inhaled his scent, it would give me t he strength I so desperately needed. I could feel the growl building in Edward's chest as James and Victoria laughed like hyena's, but Laurent was silent.

While I had a moment not facing the small coven I used the opportunity to ask Edward if the wolves were here, telling him to kiss my head if they were.

Edward's lips brushed the top of my head gently and I let out a small sigh, I had to make my move now. I took a step away from him and looked deep into his eyes, I mouthed 'I love you' before turning around.

Laurent was watching me expectantly and the other two were sneering at me.

I walked down the stairs slowly.

"Bella, no." Alice called out. She was adding to the small theatrics we had going on.

I turned to her. Searching her big tawny eyes. "I have to, Alice. She's my mom."

She rolled into Jasper's arms, he held her tightly against him. Each of the Cullen's were wearing grave faces as they watched me move towards Laurent. My stomach twisted inside my body, I was on my own now, I would be giving the Cullen's directions, but they would keep their distance.

Laurent's dark burgundy eyes watched me as I walked slowly towards him, he opened his arms in a supportive gesture, I fought to keep the shudder at bay as I stepped into the embrace.

"Bella, please believe me, I tried to stop this, I find it more barbaric than you can imagine. I followed them so I could keep your mother safe." Laurent whispered into my hair.

"Thank you." I whispered into his chest.

In a series of quick movements, Victoria had a handful of my hair, she pulled my head back and her mouth was at my ear in a second. I stayed calm and kept my breaths as normal as I could, this creature fed on fear and I wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

"You ever speak to me like that again, I will rip you limb from limb and burn the pieces, do I make myself clear?" she hissed.

I could hear the Cullen's reacting, I knew it was a challenge for them to watch this, my eyes looked to their direction, James was stood between us and the Cullen's, and on the porch, Emmett had his large arms wrapped around Edward holding him back, it was taking a herculean effort to stop Edward projecting himself from the porch steps. Rosalie stepped in front of him, she was probably speaking to him with her thoughts, trying to calm him down a little. I would have to thank her for that later.

Laurent was the first to take action, he glared at Victoria, "Have you lost your mind, we're outnumbered and you choose now to be vindictive?"

Victoria's eyes met Laurent's and they stared at one another for a while, before Victoria finally released her hold on my hair. She strolled away from the Cullens and towards the trees. This was it, time had run out, I would be alone with James and his coven now, my only comfort, was knowing that the Cullen's and the wolves would be following me.

I looked back to the Cullen's, I took in each of their faces, committing them to memory, I wasn't a pessimistic person, but I couldn't stop myself from dreading what would happen to me when I was out of their sight, or even whether I would see them again.

"Bella," Edward spoke my name and his velvet voice carried it to me, it ripped a hole in my chest so large that I couldn't breathe, I could barely move. There was so much pain lacing his voice and his face was so full of concern and pain. I wondered if I could keep going with this charade, I hated seeing him so hurt, I mirrored his pain, but I held onto the hope I would see him again soon. It's all I had.

Laurent's hand touched the small of my back, and he guided me away from the Cullens in the direction that Victoria had taken. I hung my head, the pain was almost unbearable, my emotions were eating me alive. I looked over my shoulder for the last time, Edward's face made my heart shatter into a thousand pieces, there was so much pain etched on his angel face, his composure was breaking down. Esme was on one side and Carlisle was on the other, both were talking to him quietly, but his eyes were on me. My body began to shake convulsively, Laurent's arm snaked around my waist so he could move me quicker, it seemed he thought I would change my mind.

I took a deep breath and turned around, comforted by the fact that I would see Renee, but also because I had left a large part of myself behind, it was stood on the porch steps of the large white house locked away in the man I loved, where no one could touch it.

"Will they follow us?" Laurent asked quietly beside me.

"I don't think so," I whispered. "they left the decision with me, they will honor it."

I could see the smirk on Laurent's face. He was happy, he had me to himself now, at least he thought he did.

In the enclosure of the trees, Victoria and James had stopped to wait for us. Victoria looked angrier than I had ever seen her and James looked amused. Laurent stopped by them and I braced myself for what was coming.

Victoria stepped forward her face was inches from mine, I tensed myself for her anger.

"There's no one to back you up now, Bella."

"You think that makes a difference, Victoria?" I asked, I could feel my eyes narrowing.

Victoria's lips pulled back from her teeth and she glared at me venomously. In one quick movement she had my hair again and had pulled my head back exposing my neck. Her mouth was at my throat, I could feel her cool breath on my skin.

"Do it!" I whispered angrily.

"Victoria!" James reprimanded his mate.

Her head spun to look at him in one quick jerked movement.

"Let's go and take care of our other problem first, then we can leave."

"Why don't we just leave her where she is, someone will find her eventually." Victoria laughed. "We got what we came for." Victoria pushed my head violently making my entire body move with the gesture.

James thought about what she as saying.

I froze, I hadn't thought this through, how could I have been so stupid? I had overlooked the one scenario that could ruin everything, they had me, I was with them now, I had come willingly thinking they would take me to my mother, but why would they take me to my mother? They _had_ no reason to take me to her now, and they would leave her where she was to die.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I waited for them to make a decision, I knew James would take this new option, a human was cumbersome and slow, he wanted to move quickly. I knew Alice would see this, but I hoped she wouldn't panic. I still needed to find Renee.

"Where is she?" I begged. "Please, I'll go with you, please, just tell my friends where to find her."

James and Victoria laughed again, this is what they wanted, me begging, they wouldn't let me tell the Cullen's where she was, but there was a chance they would tell me, I knew that they wanted to taunt me any way they could. I decided to use what I had, I didn't want to force it out of them, yet. I had to play my hand first.

I turned to Laurent, swallowing the disgust I held for him, I placed my hand on his chest and looked into his eyes, trying to imagine Edward there so I would get the right look in my eyes.

"Laurent, please, I just need to know where she is, I have to know she'll be found easily." I begged with as much adoration I could place in my voice. I was hoping flattery would work for me.

Laurent's eyes flickered to James and Victoria briefly, it was almost as though he was asking permission.

"Please," I urged.

"She's in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town." he whispered to me.

I heard the growl emit from James behind me. I didn't care, I had to let the Cullen's know what was going on, I hoped they would get to her, it seemed surreal how close I still was to the house. I could run, but I knew where they would go if I did, I had to make sure the Cullen's could get to Renee before I made any kind of move.

I thought with everything I had about Edward and told him what I had found out, I begged him to send someone to Renee, and I asked him to please make sure Esme was with them, Esme's kind face would put Renee at ease.

"You won't be telling your friends though." James said grasping my arm and jerking me away from Laurent. James swept me up into his arms, I caught an evil glare from Victoria before began running, he knew how close we still were to the house and it wouldn't have taken much for me to get away, but I was counting on them taking me away, I would wait twenty four hours for the Cullens to get to Renee and then make my escape, and I would be using my ability to do so.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, James?" I said wriggling in his arms, "I can run thank you."

"I'm not taking any chances." James spat as he accelerated.

I sighed loudly showing my discomfort. As he ran, I let my mind catch up with what just happened, there was a small chance that James could change his mind and go after Renee again and I couldn't take that chance, I could look after myself for now, I just had to make sure she was safe. I knew what I would do as soon as I needed to escape, but for now, I had to give Renee a fighting chance. I knew what I had to do, but I was sacred, what if they'd lied to me.

I wanted to make them forget where Renee was hidden, but there was a small chance Laurent had given me the wrong location, if I wiped their memories of where they'd left her, she could be lost for good, by the time we scanned the wide area she could die. The forest wasn't the safest place, and if she was in a building somewhere, she could starve to death. I would have to wait, and hope that Laurent had been honest. That way the Cullens would keep her safe until I could get away.

I really couldn't understand the fascination that seemed to compel James and the others to want me so badly, even if Laurent did want me as his mate, why would James and Victoria go out of their way to help him achieve that? To me, it seemed as though Victoria disliked Laurent almost as much as she disliked me. So the question was, why?

"Can I ask you something, James?" I said, curiously.

James looked at me suspiciously, he hadn't expected my earnest tone of voice.

"Sure,"

"Why me? Why all of this? I mean, I don't quite understand your need to have me around. Why was is so important for you to take me away from the Cullens?"

"Bella . . ." he hesitated before continuing. "We know about your little talents, you thought we never noticed, but we did . . . You continue to underestimate us."

"Talent?" I asked playing dumb.

"You still don't know?" he laughed wickedly.

"Know what exactly?"

James laughed but didn't say another word, I looked around the small group, Victoria and Laurent were either side of us. I felt so confused, I couldn't understand what they would gain from my small gift, I couldn't even understand how they'd discovered it.

I had to make a split second decision, I could jump and run, I could go with them or I could make them forget and risk losing Renee.

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**A/N: Okay, what do you think? I hope you enjoyed. I have uploaded another cover, just because I get super bored at work, I really can't help myself ;0) To be honest the third option that Bella and the others missed, I missed too so it seemed fitting we discovered the dastardly plan together lol. James got what he wanted, why would he give Bella what she wanted, her mother . . . **

**Thanks for the Alerts and Faves, I am honored. And thank you to the REVIEWERS . . . ONCE AGAIN YOU GUYS ROCK!! YOU REALLY DO I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH . . . **

**BIG HUGZ - L -**


	17. Chapter 16 Deception

**_All things Twilight belong to the Fantastically Awesome Stephenie Meyer. (13 days and 2 hours till Breaking Dawn)_**

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**Chapter 16 - Deception**

No matter what option I chose, I would lose something, my curiosity was also a large factor in my decision. I went through every alternative painfully, looking at everything, the pros and cons, everything. This had always been the hardest part for me, but I knew once the decision was made I would follow it through.

First, if I jumped and ran, there was a large possibility I would never see Renee again, she could die, either at the hands of the vampires that were with me now, or by being left hidden, to starve.

Secondly, I could go with them, but there was still no guarantee I could save Renee, my curiosity at how they discovered my talent was eating away at me, but they could manipulate me into doing something for them with the pretense of saving my mother.

Lastly, wiping their minds, this would not help get Renee back, they would never remember, but my mind continued to swirl around the hopes of using my gift to get the truth from them. It could work, but if they knew about my talent they could block it, I still wasn't a hundred percent sure on how it worked myself.

James had carried me far away from the house now, they moved quickly, he was fast even with my weight in his arms, I couldn't help feeling awkward at the position I was in, he had me pulled into his chest, but I was rigid, arms folded over my chest.

I made my choice, I still wasn't sure if it would work, but it was the only one I had, it was the fourth option. I thought about Victoria as hard as I could, she was the most tenacious of the group, once she was my solitary thought I commanded her to tell me where Renee was, I repeated it with more conviction than I ever had before, hoping that she would give me what I wanted, and do it subtly.

"The weather on Tyee Hill was terrible, I'm glad we're moving south." Victoria sighed, there was a nonchalance in the execution of the sentence, if I hadn;t have been waiting for it, I wouldn't have known what she was talking about.

James looked at her from the corner of his eye before looking at me, I held a disinterested look and rolled my eyes. This seemed to placate James and he continued on quickly. I thought as hard as I could about the Cullen's and told them where to find Renee. I would give them an hour until I made my escape. I had to hope that Victoria was being honest, the look James had given it away, she had said something that had given away my mothers location.

I let him carry me forward, but I needed to stay a little closer if I was making my escape in an hour.

"I'm thirsty." I declared.

"There's a small town past Lone Mountain, we can feed there." James said distastefully.

I raised my eyebrows, this was going to be an interesting conversation.

"I don't feed from humans anymore, James." I spat.

James' run slowed to a walk and he looked completely confused at my words. I knew he hadn't expected that. My words had surprised him. He looked into my eyes, for the first time since I left with them and his brow furrowed.

"You're eyes are almost a yellow brown, like theirs."

"That's because I feed from animals, deer, bears, large game. There really isn't that much difference, and it's very convenient." I said taunting them with my sing song voice.

Laurent and Victoria walked back towards us, they had stopped a little ahead of us when they realized we were no longer between them. Laurent was by my side in seconds.

"What's the problem, James?" He asked, his accent strong.

"Her eyes," James answered, there wa sa tenseness to his voice, and I couldn't put my finger on what had him so upset.

Laurent took my chin in his hands and moved my face until it was looking directly at him. His lips peeled over his teeth, he was almost disgusted at the implications.

"What is this?" Laurent growled.

"She feeds from . . . Animals!" Laughed James. He pulled his arms from under me, but like a feline I landed agilely on my feet. Laurent still had my face in his hand.

"Bella, is this why your eyes are this color?" he asked too softly.

I nodded.

"This won't do, I won't have you looking like that." he said in a snarl.

"I really don't see how it's any of your business." I snapped.

Laurent's eyes narrowed, his face came closer to mine. I tightened my jaw as my eyes narrowed, I couldn't keep up the little act anymore, Renee would be saved quickly, but I still needed to give them a little time.

Now, it was time for my vindication, and I was going to have some fun doing it. I thought as best I could about Jacob, I held the image of his face in my mind. I knew we were a little north of Lone Mountain and I could smell the water of Lake Quinault, which meant we were somewhere on Higley Peak. I was happy that I had done some geography of the area now, Edward had insisted that I learn the name of some of the ranges so I could identify where I was.

With this in mind, I gave it to Jacob, if they came from the north, they would pick up our scent and follow it in, but still, it could take a while for them to get here.

"Oh, it's my business, Bella." he smirked.

I pulled my face from his grip, he was grasping me a little tighter than I had realized, but I got the desired effect. My hair fell into my face and I brushed it out lightly, so I could see what I was doing. I smiled at him sweetly but there was a look in his eyes that wasn't there before. I stepped away from him, I had never see Laurent angry, but this, the look he now wore, was anger, condensed, canned and pressurized, just waiting to explode.

I took another couple of steps back, unsure of what was going on. I even believed that I may have subconsciously given him my anger, but it wasn't that at all. Laurent grabbed my left arm, his fingers were locked so tightly they were leaving indentations in my solid skin. He pulled me back towards him, lifting my hand to the level of his face.

"What . . . the . . . hell . . . is this?" he growled.

Realizing where his anger had come from, I couldn't stop the smile spreading widely across my face, I had forgotten the beautiful ring that resided on the third finger of my left hand. It was a symbol of mine and Edward's love, something that Laurent hadn't been prepared for.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that," I said, sarcasm marring my voice. "I'm getting married."

Laurent's patience was being tested by me. I knew I was still outnumbered, I knew that they had the upper hand, but I was never going to let them beat me, they would never get what they wanted.

Laurent made a move to pull the ring from my finger but I balled my fist and pulled it from his grasp. I could feel my body root itself to the ground. I was ready for him to strike me, I knew he would, I could see the anger taking control of him.

James stepped towards me again and glared at Laurent, he knew that I was stalling, and quite effectively at that. I, however, kept goading him, pressing his buttons, waiting for the snap.

"What, Laurent?" I laughed, humorlessly. "Did you really think that I was so naive I didn't see what you wanted? I would have rather died than let you touch me, you disgust me!"

Laurent's face contorted with rage, his eyes were so narrow they looked closed, his body moved into a stance that resembled a crouch, he was about to pounce, I could see that as he lowered himself to the ground. It seemed Laurent didn't follow his own rules, when teaching me combat his first rule had been 'never fight out of anger, collect yourself before you advance, emotions make you weak.'

I incited him further by laughing at him and his stance. The sound was almost hysterical and I could feel the fear creeping up inside me. This wouldn't be easy, but it would take up some time. I prepared myself, watching him as closely as I could. We were still very close to one another.

I stepped back and circled him a little, he matched my movements easily. His burgundy eyes never moved from my face, I knew he wasn't following anything I was doing, he was leaving himself vulnerable.

James stepped in between us, nodding at Victoria to hold me back as he did. I could hear her footsteps behind me. I span and looked up at her, my eyes connecting with hers as my lips curled over my teeth.

"Don't touch me." I growled and stepped away from her and to the side. I was stepping away from them all, it was my opportunity, they were leaving me unguarded. James was talking with Laurent trying to calm him. I could hear the ripping snarl emit from Laurent's chest at the interruption and obstruction of his view of me.

Victoria looked a little affronted at my aggression, she hadn't been expecting it. Keeping low to the ground I backed away again, I was on all fours moving quickly, I was using their confusion at the situation to my advantage. Victoria collected herself quickly and stepped forward in my direction, a smirk grew on her face, she saw this as the opportunity she had been waiting for since I had finished my transformation, she thought she was getting her chance to kill me.

She immediately stooped into her offensive position, I could feel the smile grow on my lips, I was the only one still in control, I was in control of my mind and my movements, the others were losing themselves to their instincts. James was losing his patience quickly with Laurent, his guttural snarl filled the small space, trying to beat Laurent into submission.

I moved back again. I knew I was facing south, I'd been keeping my bearings throughout our run, I knew which way was home, and I knew that this direction would take me directly to my mother. Had I given Edward and the other's enough time to reach her? I wasn't sure but I was running out of options, as happy as I was about Laurent's anger, I hadn't expected it to escalate quite so quickly, it seemed he'd been more eager than we'd thought, I wanted to get away before it became to dangerous, my impending marriage seemed to have sent him over the edge.

I backed away quickly, Victoria advanced at the same speed, she wasn't going to let my escape be easy, she would fight me if it came to it. I continued to move backwards, I would never be stupid enough to turn my back on Victoria, she was vicious and loved to play dirty.

"Don't want to stay and play, Bella?" she squeaked in her annoying baby voice.

"Funny how you're not so confident when the numbers are even." I retaliated.

Victoria laughed, slight hysterics echoed in the sound. She hopped forward so she was closer to me. I knew I would have to confuse her while Laurent and James were locked in their confrontation, they hadn't counted on me controlling my gift, so they didn't expect me to attempt anything.

I stared at Victoria and thought about her with all of my concentration, then I told her to look for something she'd dropped on the ground, never specifying what it was so she wouldn't find it. I could have easily told her to forget me but I didn't want her too, I wanted to fight her, it was unlike me but I never wanted her to be able to follow me again. My future had Edward in it and I refused to let them pull something like this again.

Victoria spun on the spot looking confused. She dropped to her knees and began searching the bracken laced floor, I would fix that later. I looked to the two men who were stood face to face, their words were becoming harsher and I knew that it would be long until it was either resolved, or they would fight. I didn't want to be around for either, so I made my move and headed into the trees, pushing myself harder than I ever had before, I didn't want them catching me, and I wasn't sure I wanted them running into the wolves just yet. I had to make sure that Victoria had, in fact, told me where Renee would be.

I darted through the trees with as much speed as I could gather, I pushed myself hard up the mountainous inclines, I had to get to the white house first, if Renee was there, this nightmare was half over, if she wasn't I had to keep going, up to where Victoria had told me she would be, and I wouldn't rest until I found her.

I stopped abruptly when I heard an unnatural sound moving through the forest quickly, I couldn't identify the noise, and it was a little intimidating.

It moved quickly through the trees, sounding very much like a heard of horses, I closed my eyes and listened for the direction it was traveling in, I froze when I realized it was headed straight for me and would be on top of me in a matter of seconds. My headed jerked around looking for the source of the sound, it was so close, but the tread was so light.

I heard the growl before I saw the shape, something was leaping through the air directly at me, I didn't have a lot of time to think so I dropped to the floor, the beast soared over the top of me. I instantly recognized the form of it and jumped to my feet.

"Jacob, it's Bella." I shouted.

The beast that had projected itself at me stopped, it had already turned and propelled itself at me again but it came to a grinding halt three feet away from me, it's incisors bared.

I heard another growl come from the trees surrounding me and a tall russet wolf stepped out.

"Jacob?" I almost pleaded, I didn't have time to stand around and wait for the interrogation.

The wolves eyes connected with mine and the softened considerably. He bowed his head once to let me know that it was him.

"They are about five miles south of here, I was able to mislead them and escape, they're arguing. Follow my scent it will lead you straight to them, I have to go and find my mom."

Jacob bowed his head once more and the large packed moved around me and headed in the direction I had just come from. Jacob stood still, his eyes searching mine, I wasn't sure what he was trying to ask me, but I had to go, there was always a chance James and the others had already noticed my absence and circled around to the East, knowing that I had already found my way back.

"Be careful, Jacob." I implored.

Jacob nodded and we took off in opposite directions, I knew he was concerned about me traveling alone, but he would never have been able to resist the fight. I had to keep moving, all I wanted to know was whether Renee was safe yet. I had to get to her before James and the others had the chance.

I wasn't alone for long, I was still traveling towards the white house when I heard the light footsteps ahead of me. I recognized the sound immediately and the voice that called out my name brought a reflexive smile to my lips. It was Edward, Alice must have seen my decision to escape and sent him towards me.

"Edward," I called and pushed myself again. Then there he was like a dream ahead of me, beside him Emmett looking disappointed at finding me alone.

"Bella," Edward called and I crashed into his arms.

Edward pulled me to him in and breathed in my scent kissing my neck gently as his hands ran through my hair. Emmett wrapped his arms around both of us and chuckled. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped at my new brothers gesture.

"Renee?" I asked no one in particular, "Did you get Renee?"

"Yes, Bella, she's safe at the house, Esme is with her." Edward breathed pulling me closer to him.

I relaxed in his arms, Emmett stepped away from us and sighed.

"I hate to break this up but we should go, Alice said it wouldn't take them long." Emmett said watching the two of us.

Edward released me but his hand picked up mine quickly. He nodded at me knowing what I wanted, and the three of us set off, it wouldn't be far now, the surroundings were becoming more familiar, it wouldn't take us long to get to the house. I would finally see Renee and then we could take care of James and his small coven.

"Did they hurt you?" Edward asked examining me carefully as we ran.

"I think Laurent would have, but James had a bigger plan, they know about my ability."

"How?" Asked Emmett from the other side of me.

"They said that I would talk to them with my mind when I was attempting to escape, I think it's because I would chant to myself as I built up the courage to run, it was probably very much like how it was when I discovered they had my mother."

"How did you find out where your mother was?" asked Edward.

"I asked Victoria to subtly tell me. She blurted out her dislike of the location and I acted bored and as though I never realized, I actually left her looking for something, she was supposed to keep me there while Laurent and James argued."

"Looking for what?" asked Emmett.

"Nothing, I just told her that she'd dropped something and she should look for it, not specifying what she should look for gave me more time to get away unnoticed."

"Where did you leave them?"

"Close to Lone Mountain, I actually ran into the wolves on my way back, I called them in when we stopped."

"Did you call us?" Edward asked looking a little hurt.

"No, I trusted you with the more important task, retrieving my mom."

I rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb in reassurance, I knew that he didn't like me calling for help from the wolves, but I had been hoping they would concentrate all of their efforts into finding my mom.

My words and actions seemed to take away some of the creases that lined his brow.

"What did Alice see?" I asked as we raced closer towards the house.

"They headed east, they were going to retrieve your mom, when they see she's gone, they're going to confront us, they're not happy."

"I imagine so," I sighed. Now I knew Renee was safe, I just wanted this to be over. "How was my mom holding up?"

"She was a little upset, but Esme explained you were with us and you would be back soon."

"Is she hurt?"

"No, they took good care of her, I think they planned to take you to her."

"That would explain why Alice didn't see their decision to leave her where she was. Victoria suggested leaving her behind because they'd gotten what they'd come for." I explained.

"Alice saw as soon as they made the decision." Edward said morosely.

"Edward almost took off from the porch the second she saw it, but then you made your decision, and he calmed down a little."

Edward shot Emmett a glance and I laughed. Emmett was openly honest, it was one of his biggest traits and I liked it about him. Edward looked abashed before letting a smile cross his lips.

"I'm flattered." I laughed.

We ran the rest of the distance in silence, I hated that I would have to tamper with Renee's memories, I would wipe the whole episode with James out of her mind and I would remove anything she would see when James and the others came for me. But as soon as that was done, I would say goodbye, just as I had done with Charlie. It would be her goodbye dream.

The large white house appeared as we stepped through the trees. I felt like I was home. Not because of the house itself, but because of the people inside of it, they were my new family, no matter how hard it was going to be when it came to say goodbye to Renee I was comforted by the fact that I had these people to help me get through it.

We walked up the steps of the front porch slowly, I found myself growing nervous. It had been a year since I saw my mom, and she was here, under the impression I was still alive.

Edward squeezed my hand and Emmett opened the door. There stood on the other side, hand in hand with Esme, was Renee. Her eyes widened as she saw me and all of the color disappeared from her face.

"Bella." she managed to push the words out weakly before she crumpled towards the floor.

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**A/N: I had a malfunction with my computer, sorry the chapter is poster so late. I hope to get it fixed soon. **

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**BIG HUGZ - L -**


	18. Chapter 17 Antecedent

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesomely Awesome Stephenie Meyer (11 Days 1 hour til Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 17 -Antecedent**

Renee never hit the floor, Esme had swooped her up into her arms before I had time to react. She carried her towards the couch and laid her gently on the pale material. My face must have been easy to read, as she stood up sympathy washed over her angelic face.

"She'll be fine, Bella, just a little shock. Carlisle told me to be prepared for that." Esme said as she pulled a blanket over Renee.

"How has she been since you found her?" I asked brushing my mom's hair out of her face and taking a seat beside her on the couch. She looked so small and frail laying on the couch, her skin looked almost alabaster in the light of the Cullen house.

"She was very confused, they told her you were being held hostage here. It took a lot of help from Jasper to calm her down and convince her otherwise." Esme said, resting her hand on my shoulder.

"How long do we have?" I asked.

"Alice said they'll be here within the hour."

I nodded and looked back down at Renee, who was still out cold. She had changed since I saw her last, her hair was longer and there were new lines on her face, it made me upset to think I had caused them. Her eyes had dark circles underneath them, that, I attributed to the sleepless nights she must have endured while traveling with James and the others. She had also lost a lot of weight. Her small frame could be seen easily now.

Edward knelt beside me, his hand brushed my cheek lightly. I knew he was worried about me just as much as I was worried about Renee.

"Are you okay?" he asked tentatively.

"I'll be fine, I just want this to be over." I sighed, picking up Renee's warm hand in my own. It was the same sensation as it had been when I had hugged Charlie goodbye. The warmth was comforting.

"I know," Edward's voice carried the conviction of his statement, he did know. James and the others had all but kept us apart since our engagement. I felt that burden among my others, but I knew that if we were able to finally stop the small coven of three, we could finally get on with our lives, we could move on and I would never have to worry about my family being placed in danger by these animals.

"What are we going to do with her when they come, how do we keep her safe?" I asked.

"You'll stay with her."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Edward, I knew he wanted to protect me, but there was no way I was going to sit inside while the rest of them risked their lives for me. Edward smiled at me and shook his head.

"I'm guessing that's a no." he laughed.

"You guessed right."

Edward chuckled lightly and kissed me on the tip of the nose. "We'll figure something out."

Renee stirred lightly at the noise we were making, her eyes flickered open and settled on me. She searched every feature on my face, it was almost like she was making sure I was me, and she was noting every change that had occurred in my transformation.

"Bella?" she sat bolt upright and pulled me to her, embracing me tightly, her warm arms felt so weak against my stone-like body, but I moved with her actions. "Oh, Bella. I've missed you so much, those . . . those people, said you were kidnapped by these people, and these people.–" she said looking around the room, her eyes settled on Edward, who was still kneeling at my feet.

I looked at my mom carefully, she looked terrified. I was glad I would be able to remove some of this heartache and fear for her. I wanted to do it now, but with James, Victoria and Laurent arriving soon I would end up having to do it all over again.

"Mom, these people saved me, the others, they . . . Well, they . . ." I couldn't finish the sentence, I didn't know how to put it into words, they essentially killed me but I would never say that to her, it would shock her, and I would have to explain how I was sat here with her now. It was a conversation we would never have, I was going to accept that, but I had no idea what to tell her. I knew she had questions, I was so much like her in so many ways.

"They kidnapped her, she was held captive for over a year, we only found her a couple of weeks ago, they got you involved to force her to leave with them again." Edward finished for me. I smiled at him, he knew I was thanking him. I sat silently waiting for the barrage of questions, but they never came, instead was the guilt and self deprecation.

"And I left with them." sighed Renee unhappily, "I really should have known better, they made me so uncomfortable."

My eyes must have been wide with the shock of her acceptance. Renee sat forward and cupped my face with her hands, A frown crossed her brow as she made contact, "Bella, your so cold."

"I know." I whispered. it's all I could say, this woman in front of me had changed in so many ways, gone was the happy innocence, it was replaced by wisdom and pain at the loss of her child. I hoped I could help her.

My attention was pulled away from Renee when Alice danced into the room, her grace consistently amazed me. Her face looked troubled but it would only be apparent to those of us who knew her well, she masked it well with a small smile on her pale lips.

"Hello, Renee. How are you feeling?" she asked as she sat in the love seat opposite the couch Renee was still lying on.

"Better, thank you, Alice." Renee said smiling. I could tell that Alice had been a large part in the small amount of trust Renee had placed in the Cullen's before I arrived. her gratitude was evident in her eyes and her smile.

I was distracted though, Alice's eyes flickered to Edward and then to me. She was communicating with Edward silently, I didn't need to hear the words to know what she was saying. There was only one reason she would interrupt something like this, she was warning us.

"They know she's gone?" I asked.

Alice nodded. Renee looked between us for answers. Edward tensed up, I knew he wasn't comfortable discussing this in front of Renee.

"It won't be long, it only took us thirty minutes to get her after we found Renee."

"Alice!" Edward said under his breath, it was so quiet Renee never caught it. I appreciated his concern but it was too late to dance around what little truth we could reveal.

"Bella, they're coming here?" Renee asked looking anxious. I examined her face trying to decide how much she could handle. I knew Edward could read her mind, but I knew my mothers strength. All of this would be gone from her memory, the tension and fear would dissipate with the removal of them, I could almost bet on that.

I nodded slowly. "Mom, I need to speak with Carlisle, I'll be right back." I stood up but Renee grabbed my hand quickly.

"Bella, what's going on?"

"Mom, everything is fine. We're going to call Charlie so he'll arrest them." I said hating the lies that were spilling from me so easily now. For now it was the most feasible answer, the only one that would really truly work.

Renee looked between the three of us again and nodded.

"Just stay here and get some rest, you look tired." I said smiling at her. It all felt so familiar, I was always the one looking after her when I was younger.

Renee nodded and relaxed into the couch. She almost looked like a child on the warm comfortable furniture.

"I'll be right back." I told Edward and Alice, but Edward was at my side as quickly as humanly possible. Alice nodded, she was planning on keeping Renee occupied. I knew she'd seen my decision, I just wasn't sure if she'd seen the answers. Edward and I headed towards the stairs, I had a feeling Carlisle would be in his office.

"What are we doing?" Edward asked as we headed slowly up the stairs, Renee could still see us from her spot on the couch.

"I want to see if Carlisle will sedate her, I don't want her to see anything that happens once James and the others get here. If she sees me out there, she'll follow, and I can't let that happen."

"Then stay with her, Bella." Edward pleaded.

I stopped on the stairs I couldn't see Renee anymore, so I knew we were out of her view. I turned to look at him, he was a step below me, looking like a Greek deity. I placed my hands on his cheeks and rested my forehead against his, our eyes connected and I held his glance, soaking up the warm topaz brilliance of his eyes. He sighed in resignation, he knew what I was going to say without me having to say it, or letting him into my mind.

"I understand." He whispered. There was a hesitance in his voice, he may of understood, but he didn't like it at all.

"I just have to see this through, I have to make sure it's done." I said trying to help him see my side.

Edward took my hand from his face gently, and guided me towards Carlisle's office, there was no need to knock, he called us in as we approached. His warm smile greeted us as we stepped inside.

"Ah, Bella, is Renee awake?" Carlisle asked. The doctor in him shining through.

I nodded and smiled at him in thanks. "She's fine, asking questions of course."

"it's par for the course unfortunately, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"I was hoping I could ask you for a favor." I said shyly.

Carlisle nodded, indicating I should go on.

"I was hoping you may have something that could sedate Renee before James and the others arrived, she's been through so much I don't want her to have to see that. She doesn't know what we are, and if she's anywhere near a window . . ." The words tumbled out quickly.

"I can do that, I think it's a reasonable request. The noise alone will raise her suspicion."

"Bella is planning on fighting with us." Edward sighed, "It'll have to knock her out for a while."

Carlisle looked at me carefully. "You're sure you want to do this, Bella?"

I nodded. I needed to know they would be out of my life for good, I needed to know the Cullen's were protected from them, there were more than enough of us to take care of this mess, and I was sure the wolves would be happy to finish them off, but I needed the closure and the only way to obtain that was to be there when they were taken care of. I needed to know my mother, father and new sibling would be left in peace.

"We don't have long, thirty minutes at the most, Alice has seen them coming, they know we have Renee." Edward said sighing, I knew he was hoping Carlisle would try and change my mind. He really should have known better.

"I'll get what I need and meet you downstairs."

I nodded and headed towards the door. "Thank you Carlisle."

"You're welcome, Bella. Now go and spend some time with your mom."

Listening to Renee talking about what she had been doing since my disappearance hurt, because I knew that she would have to go back to that. She told me how hard it was to sell the house in Phoenix, but she'd done it because she couldn't stand the memories that the house was filled with. It made me sad to think that the house was gone, but Renee seemed happy in her new home in Jacksonville, Florida. Phil had been signed down there and he was also coaching a high school team.

She missed her students in Phoenix, but had found a new school in Florida, she spent a while talking about some of her new students and how attached she had already grown to them.

Things with Phil were going well, after my disappearance, he had supported her emotionally in every way he could. It sounded as though he had been tolerant of her mood swings and her breakdowns. The poor guy must love her more than I had thought, he seemed to be the one that had pulled her through it all. I wish I could have the opportunity to thank him, but I doubted I ever would.

It wasn't long before Carlisle came into the room, trailed closely by Alice who was looking anxious. I knew that they must be close and it sent a wave of fear running through me, I knew that we overpowered them by more than ten fold, but the anxious ache that filled my stomach didn't ease.

I guessed this was because I had seen each of these three fight, they had unparalleled skills and they were more experienced than any other fighters I had seen, they lived for the fight, they liked a challenge. This is exactly what we were offering them, a challenge. Unfortunately, I doubted that the had factored in the wolves and the fact that we were working together with them.

"What's this?" Renee asked as she saw the needle Carlisle was carrying.

"It's okay, mom, it's to help you sleep. I'll be here when you wake up." I said smoothing the hair on her head gently.

"I don't need to sleep, I'm fine." he voice rose an octave higher.

"Mom, really, have you seen yourself?" I laughed and kissed her gently on the forehead.

Renee scowled at me before cracking a smile. She brushed her fingers over the purple shadows under my eyes.

"You look like you could do with a rest yourself, Bella." she laughed gently.

"Mom," I pressed gently.

She took a deep breath and nodded. I moved down the couch gently and held her hand, her eyes never left mine. Carlisle was swift and gentle in the execution of the shot. Renee seemed surprised when he stood up and moved away.

"What about the others, they're coming now, aren't they?" she asked struggling to sit up.

"Mom, Charlie picked them up on his way out here, he took them to the station, it's fine." I flinched again at the lie I was forced to tell. It was necessary to keep her safe, but I had always hated lying to her.

"I love you, Bella." Renee's voice was beginning to get thicker.

"I love you, mom."

Renee's eyelids drooped heavily, and she grinned at me lazily. I watched as the drugs took effect and she drifted into a happy oblivion. There was a smile planted perfectly on her face and I wanted to remember that moment. I wanted to remember her just like this.

Carlisle left the room briefly to call the others, it was time to prepare ourselves for what and who was coming. The family filed into the room silently. Jasper sat as far away from Renee as he could. He still didn't trust himself fully around humans and preferred to keep his distance. I appreciated his efforts.

Everyone was seated quietly waiting for Carlisle to start. It didn't take long, Alice was looking more anxious by the second which meant that they were almost here.

" I called the wolves, they're planning on waiting until James, Victoria and Laurent are in the field, then they'll surround it. If one of them makes a run for it, the wolves will take them out, but we cannot step outside of the meadow, they will be using their senses to fight, their natural instincts, they're afraid they will attack any vampire they encounter. In fact, Bella, Jacob said there was an incident in the forest on your way back, he said one of the wolves almost attacked you."

Edward shot a look at me and I shrugged. It had scared me at the time, but thinking back on it, the situation had been easily rectified.

"It was nothing major, as soon as I called out they stopped." I said quietly.

"Bella," Edward was by my side and holding my hand, "they could have hurt you."

"It's okay, I'm fine. I just need to be more careful." I said feigning nonchalance. Another lie, the guilt was piling up nicely.

"With that being said, stay in the meadow, no exceptions." said Carlisle.

"Alice, how long?" I asked looking at my mother on the couch.

"Five minutes."

"Where can I put Renee?" I asked looking at Carlisle.

"You can put her in your room, or the couch in my room. We're on the third floor, it should be safe there, we'll see someone before they get that far." Edward said heading to pick up Renee from the couch.

"My room, she'll feel at home there if she wakes up." I said moving to allow him access.

Edward picked up my mother as though she weigh nothing at all and headed towards the stairs followed closely by me. We made it to the third floor quickly. Edward lay my mother gently on the couch before draping an angora blanket over the top of her. The blanket was something Alice had insisted on and I had fought against with everything I had, I thought I had won, but it seemed that Alice had went ahead and bought it anyway. I would have to thank her for it later.

I took a last look at my sleeping mother before heading towards the door.

"Thank you, Edward." I whispered as we walked out of the room.

"What for?" he asked as he closed the door behind us.

"Everything, but mostly, for loving me." I whispered, suddenly losing my confidence.

Edward's arms wrapped around me and he backed me into the paneled wall adjacent to my room. His body was close and his face was level to mine, his eyes were scorching full of passion and emotion, I almost melted to the spot. His eyes burned into me.

"Bella, Please, stay with Renee." he begged unmercifully.

His cool breath washed over me sending a shiver down my spine. I closed my eyes to the stop the distraction of the molten gold of his.

"I can't Edward, I need to know they're gone, I need to be there. I promise you, I will be fine. I just need you to understand my need to see this through."

"I understand, Bella, but do you know what will happen if I lose you?"

"You won't lose me." I said opening my eyes, my hands went to his defined chest. "Please, do what you need to, don't you dare distract yourself with me, Edward."

"Bella," my name escaped his lips with such passion and desire, but I knew what he was doing and I had to resist, the way the sound came form his lips sent my entire mind in a whirl.

"Edward," his name escaped my lips with more desperation than I could stand, and he knew he was winning. I fought with everything I had to keep a clear head. How did he have such an effect on me? How was he able to send my into such senselessness with just my name alone?

I pushed on his chest gently where my hands were still planted.

"I've made up my mind, please, Edward, don't try to change it."

Edward sighed in frustration but nodded, he kissed me gently and quickly on the lips before taking my hand. I knew by the strength of the grasp he had on my it, that the small coven was here. Edward had realized this before I had and had just used the last of his persuasion to help me change my mind, but I wouldn't budge, I knew what I wanted, and what I needed, and that was for this to be over, and I was going to do everything in my power to get it.

"Esme," I heard Carlisle's voice as we headed down the last of the stairs.

Esme headed towards a keyboard I had never noticed on the wall before and typed in a code. Large metal shutters rolled down over the window wall concealing us inside. I felt safe knowing my mother wouldn't be seen up there, but the sound of the metal rolling gently sent an ominous shiver down my spine.

We were out of time, all of our cards were on the table. There was no escaping this, we had James and the others trapped, as soon as they entered the meadow they would be surrounded, the wolves would catch any of them if they attempted to leave. For now, they were ours to deal with.

"They're in the meadow." Alice whispered.

I nodded and headed towards the door, but I felt arms wrap around my waist and pull me back. Carlisle had something more he needed to say.

"Bella, you and Edward go outside first, you seem to be able to rile them up." Carlisle said levelly.

I nodded and took Edward's hand, this was it. I opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. I was to be t he instigator, a task I seemed to do well and with ease, especially when it came to Victoria.

The three of them stood in the middle of the meadow facing the house, each a serene mask covering their faces, but they weren't happy at all. Victoria dropped into a crouch at the sight of me, and Laurent eyed Edward with such loathing, that I was sure if looks could kill we would both be dead.

James stood between the two of them looking amused, this was the part he enjoyed the most, he'd had his fun tracking and following us, he'd had the upper hand and lost it, we'd made this into a true game for him, and this was the ultimate standoff for him, kill or be killed.

"You don't play fair, Bella." he said calmly, smirking at me.

"What on earth do you mean, James?" I asked, my tone patronizing.

"You lied about your gift, but I knew you would. You always have been rather smart."

I rolled my eyes. It didn't take a genius to know that i would lie to them but they'd but too much stock in my friendship with Laurent. they hadn't realized that I was savvy to his true agenda for me.

"I think you owe Victoria an apology, we had to spend quite a while convincing her she'd found what she was looking for."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I said planting my hands on my hips.

Victoria pulled her lips back revealing her teeth, a hiss followed the action, making her look even more menacing than she normally did.

Edward beside me started chuckling at her, I knew he was taunting her, but she crouched lower to the ground, she was ready to pounce at any moment.

"Where are your friends, Bella?" Laurent snarled as he too lowered himself into a position ready to pounce.

I heard the Cullen's move out of the house behind us, I also heard the door close, that, I was thankful for.

"We're right here," growled Emmett. "ready whenever you are."

"Eager, aren't we." laughed James. He was good at goading, and I wasn't quick to forget that.

Emmett took a step forward but Edward blocked his path. Laurent's snarl echoed around the meadow. Edward's lips pealed back as his teeth bared at Laurent. Victoria, taking her opportunity, crawled forward slightly, her eyes never leaving mine, she was waiting for her perfect opportunity. She wanted to take me out, and she was planning on having fun doing it, I could see it in her crimson eyes. Crimson, they'd just fed.

Alice was in front of me in an instant, her eyes were narrow, her teeth bared and a guttural snarl was emanating from her. She looked terrifying. I made a mental note to never cross her if I got out of this.

James began to laugh at the scene in front of him. "You always were a firecracker Mary Alice. You would have been quite delicious if the old fool hadn't of changed you."

Alice, forgetting her rage in an instant stared at James, confusion written across her face. Jasper was at her side in an instant. Each of the Cullen's had frozen to the spot. How did James know Alice?

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jasper growled angrily.

"Ah, you don't remember, of course not, locked in the dark of the asylum all those years, I don't suppose you would have, the shock therapy was particularly hard on you. I could hear your screams from my cell. But you smelled so sweet, I was patient, I stayed locked in that cell waiting for my opportunity. Then I started the fire, but the old fool got you out quickly, he knew what I was, his fascination with you got him killed, and you, dear sweet Mary Alice were no longer worth the trouble. You didn't even feel the venom as it coursed through your veins, he protected you for as long as he could, we fought quite a battle, but I was too late, and he was too weak."

"You, know me?" Alice asked.

"I would know your face anywhere, your blood tormented me, I would call to you, taunting you, your screaming got you more shots of electricity, the electrical charge made the smell taste all the more sweet, so I waited until I could no longer stand it, I started the fire as a distraction, but the old man worked at the hospital and had been keeping a watchful eye on me. He very often spoke with you, calming you down so they wouldn't torture you. You found comfort in his words, but he would never let himself get too close, he was afraid of what he was, and what he would do to you, so he kept the door as a barrier until that night. Rather than let you die, he bit you, and hid you from me. Unfortunately, by the time I found you the transformation was complete. I left you to fend for yourself, you were no good to me anymore."

"Shut up, James." I shouted, I'd had enough of his games. He was pushing Jasper and Alice to breaking point and I wouldn't let him do that any more.

"Alice?" I asked looking over at her, she was wide eyed, almost in shock. Jasper looked ready to pounce. James was playing his games again and he was about to win. I looked at Edward.

"You need to calm them down, he wants this, he wants their anger to push them."

Edward nodded and stepped forward towards Alice and Jasper, but it was too late. Jasper projected himself from the porch towards James.

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**A/N: This was such a difficult chapter for me to write, I don't know why but i couldn't find the right emotions. I wrote it four times, and Each time Renee came out whiny. I hope I lost that part of it. ;0)**

**Thank you for the Faves and Alerts and thank you to the REVIEWERS, YOU GUYS LET ME KNOW HOW i AM DOING AND i APPRECIATE IT . . . YOU ROCK!**

**BIG HUGZ - L -**


	19. Chapter 18 Bellicose

_**All things Twilight, belong to the awesomely awesome Stephenie Meyer. (10 Days and 54 minutes til Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 18 - Bellicose**

Jasper was gone in an instant. He was so angry, not even Edward could catch him. He flew across the field in a fit of rage and struck James head on.The thunderous crash that ensued had each of us grasping our ears, it reverberated around the house loudly and disappeared into the Olympic Ranges.

"Jasper," Alice's voice was drowned out by the sound, I knew she was just as angry as Jasper had been, but she had resisted the temptation. Now, her concern centered around her husband's safety and his brash actions in defending her.

Laurent and Victoria took a second to stare in shock and then headed into the fray beside them. They were currently three against one, and I wouldn't let Jasper get hurt because of this. In a split second decision I launched myself towards them, my eyes never leaving Victoria. I knew what I had to do, and if I had to take each of them down one by one I would do it. I had the promise of a good life ahead of me and I wouldn't let them haunt me anymore, and I certainly wouldn't let them intimidate my mother or my new family.

I heard the scuffle behind me and I knew that the Cullen's were following me, this was it, the moment of truth. We were heading into a fight with a coven of experienced vampires. Anything could happen but we had a bigger group and teamwork on our side. They had a loose connection of convenience and were drawn together now for one simple reason, me.

I reached Victoria as she went in for her second attack on Jasper. I launched myself into the air and my hands made contact with her waist, the pure velocity at which I was moving pulled us both past the escalating fight. Her snarl filled my ears as we plummeted to the ground.

We landed on the cool grass heavily, but were both on our feet within seconds. Victoria's eyes landed on me and narrowed, her lips peeled back to reveal her perfectly white teeth. I watched every step she made as we circled one another. This was a showdown to the death, she wouldn't stop now she had me in her sights, it's what she'd wanted since the beginning. She would take what she could get but I had a feeling she was underestimating me once again, she looked over confident.

A ripping snarl escaped my chest, I was angry and ready to fight. They had been haunting me since I arrived at the Cullen's, a prominent threat sitting, waiting for the right time to strike. They had pushed me to my limits when I had been with them, but now I had something, something to live for, something to fight for. There was no stopping me now, I was locked in like a heat seeking missile, and I wouldn't be distracted.

"You have me where you want me, Victoria. Now what?" I growled as I deepened my crouch.

She sneered at me watching my movements as we danced around one another, I knew she wanted to say something, I also knew that she had never considered me a threat, until now.

Something in the tree line distracted her eyes for a moment and I took my chance. Using every developed muscle in my legs I sprang forward, I made contact quickly but Victoria was skilled at escape, before I hit her she moved kicking me in the head as she sprang away from me. I heard her laugh as I traveled quickly through the air.

I landed in the damp grass and slid to a stop, she was advancing on me quickly, using my down time to her advantage. I wouldn't let her keep me down, so I jumped to my feet, watching her body movements, she was heading straight for me, she was going to try and hit me dead center, I waited for her, anticipating the perfect timing. Three feet away from me she sprang into the air. I moved to the right planting my fist in her side, the cracking noise reverberated around the surrounding trees. I'd hit my mark.

I followed quickly as she landed hard on the ground, but she was up and waiting for my attack, she seemed to know what to look for so I changed my footing mid stride. The movement confused her momentarily and not waiting to see my next move, she sprang to meet me in the air.

We collided causing another deafening crash to roll around the meadow, we hit the ground creating a slight shake through the damp earth. We never lost contact though, she pulled my hair back and laughed bringing her mouth dangerously close to my neck, but I wasn't going down that easily.

Her long, fire red hair swung easily around her like a halo of flames, I tangled my hands in her locks and pulled with all the strength I could, her head jolted back leaving her neck exposed, we were in the same position, at an impasse. We stayed silent as we considered our options, I knew she was looking for the upper hand in the situation, just as much as I was.

The metallic snapping and keening reached out ears from the other end of the meadow, I knew Victoria was just as curious as I was to know what was happening, but neither of us would relent. She moved her hips to the right to get a better grip, but she left me a large space to catch my footing. I pulled one leg under me and planted the other in her stomach, she seemed surprised, I smiled at her showing my teeth, I kicked the leg that was in her stomach and used the other leg to push me to a stand, she still had a firm grip on my hair as I did on hers, now we were stood eye to eye.

Her crimson irises flashed with her anger as her eyes narrowed again. Without warning she snapped her head to the side and bit my arm, the stinging of the venom caught me off guard but I wasn't letting go. My newly freed arm reached to the hand of hers that was tightly grasping my hair and I caught one of her fingers. I pulled on it gently at first, giving her warning of what I was about to do, but her grip stayed stoney. My hand squeezed around the finger tighter and I pulled with all of my strength. A high pitched keening filled my ears as her finger steadily separated from the hand it was attached to. Victoria's eyes grew wide with the pain.

"You Bitch," she screamed, she moved to pull her hand away before the finger became permanently detached, but her jerky movement left the finger sitting in the grasp of my hand. I jumped back out of her reach and rubbed the spot she'd bitten me in, the burning itch was distracting.

The finger moved in my hand gently looking for the hand it once belonged to, it made my skin crawl, but I wouldn't lose one piece of her, everything was being burned. I wanted no remnants of these animals left lying around, they wouldn't be following me anymore, I was planning on making sure of that.

Victoria sprang towards me again but I took off running, the smell of incense was filling the air and I knew there must be a fire burning with some, or all of James and Laurent.

The scene ahead of me was encouraging. Edward, Jasper and Emmett had James locked amongst them, each were taking their turn at pulling a piece from him, his fiery eyes were alight with the panic.

Laurent was locked in a battle with Carlisle, he looked perfectly in tact, but I was hoping to change that.

Alice and Rosalie were headed towards me, and Esme was throwing pieces into the fire. Knowing everyone was okay I threw the finger towards Rosalie and turned to once again face Victoria.

She slid to a stop in front of me, she hadn't been expecting me to stop.

I sprang at her before she had time to think, I was going to take her down, one scrawny piece at a time, and I was going to take my time doing it. My foot planted into her chest propelling her backwards through the open field, she dug her heels in trying to slow her projection down, but before she could catch her footing, I was advancing towards her again. I had her fingerless arm in my grips before she had even slowed, I held onto it and kicked myself off of her body keeping a tight grasp on the arm I had in my hands. She continued to travel backwards, but me and her arm sprang away from her. The metallic screech filled the air around us, it was followed closely by a high pitched wail from Victoria.

I threw the arm towards Alice and Rosalie who were still stood watching me looking shocked. I continued to move forwards, I wasn't going to give her the opportunity to fight back.

Victoria was lying on the ground flat on her back, she was struggling feeling at the stump where here arm had been. I pounced towards her but she kicked me away in one swift movement. I landed on all fours, I used it to my advantage and pushed off the ground towards Victoria again, she lifted her legs once again but I was a quick learner and I used this to my advantage. My right foot landed on her stomach and my hands caught her leg, I pushed with my leg as hard as I could as the top half of my body pulled on her leg. Once again the ripping and screeching filled the air drowned out only by Victoria's well versed string of profanities.

I threw the leg towards Alice and Rosalie again, but I was naive to turn my back on Victoria, even when she was half destroyed, she pulled my leg from under me and I landed flat on my face, my new instincts had my body react before my mind did, I spun on the ground until I was on my back, Victoria's hand was wrapped around my ankle squeezing with every ounce of strength she had. I pushed myself up with my other leg and landed on her, my knees digging into her abdomen.

Both of my hands moved to her hair and pulled her hair back exposing her neck, a vicious growl rose from the depth of my chest as my teeth made contact with the ivory skin of her throat. My teeth cut deeply leaving behind more hideous noises, the cut was made and I pulled on the abundance of red hair, until finally, it was over, I stumbled back as it separated from the body.

"Bella?" Alice's voice sounded timid as she approached me.

"Alice, are you alright?" I asked hugging her tightly.

"Fine, but are you?"

I looked down at myself and checked each of my arms and legs.

"Fine, why?"

"No reason, that just kicked ass!" laughed Rosalie.

I laughed sheepishly and rubbed my arm again, it was an irritating burn, that centered in the crescent shaped bite mark she had left in my arm.

"She bit you?" Rosalie asked, a disgusted look shrouded her naturally beautiful face.

I nodded shrugging, I didn't mind so much. Edward had once told me that the only thing that could scar a vampire was the venom, it made sense when you thought about it. The thought of a scar didn't really bother me though, it was a reminder of what had happened, and that once I was finished, Renee and Charlie would be safe from any danger I could inflict on them.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked searching the meadow.

"Back of the house, Edward told us to stay with you and only help if you needed it." Alice said smiling. "I would say you had it!"

I nodded at the two of them, I knew they were being complimentary, but it wasn't really something I wanted to be complimented on. Killing anything and extinguishing any kind of life force was hard for me, no matter they had done to hurt me. I was only this receptive to the killing because it was the _only _way I was able to escape them. Unfortunately, now there was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that still didn't feel right, I needed to know what was going on.

"I'll be right back,' I shouted at the two of them and took off towards the house, something was hanging over me and I had no idea what is was but it was eating away at me, I didn't like not being able to see what was going on with the rest of them.

I ran around the house and skidded around the corner. Emmett, Jasper and Edward were pulling James apart, Esme and Carlisle were hauling parts towards the large fire in the meadow.

"Where's Laurent?" I shouted. I immediately had the attention of each and every one of them.

Edward ran to my side and cradled my face in his hands, his intense eyes examined every inch of me before setting on my own eyes.

"Bella, are you alright, did she hurt you?"

I raised my eyebrows and grinned. Edward touched his forehead to mine.

"Where's Laurent?" I asked again, placing my hands on his waist.

'He ran into the woods, we couldn't follow because of the wolves."

"Did they catch him?" I asked.

Edward shook his head, "They were forming a plan and he slipped right through them."

"We have to get him, I can't let my mom go while he's out there." I stepped away from Edward and headed towards the trees, but he stopped me pulling me back to him.

"Bella, we can't go out there, you know that. The wolves are hunting him down now."

"Edward, this will never be over until he's taken care of, I will always be looking over my shoulder. I want to give every bit of my attention to you."

A small smile danced across Edward's lips and he pulled me to him once again. He buried his head in my hair. I could feel his cool breath moving the stands around lightly.

"It will end, here, today, Bella." He whispered so quietly I almost didn't catch it.

I did catch it though, and I knew exactly what he meant.

"He's here, watching, isn't he?" I asked under my breath. Edward barely heard it.

His kissed the top of my head again.

"Kiss me." I said out loud, but I let my mind explain my reasoning. '_It'll upset him to see you kiss me, so make it good, but listen for him._'

Edward stepped away from me and looked deep into my eyes, I knew he was making sure I believed this would work and whether I was ready. I smiled at him, my tongue danced lightly across my lips. I had to keep my mind, Edward's kisses usually knocked the air out of my lungs and all coherent thoughts from my mind, but I didn't have that luxury right now.

Without further ado, Edward's lips crashed onto mine, the force of the kiss almost knocked me off my feet but I kept my head, I knew Laurent was watching and I also knew that my engagement to Edward bothered him. I just hoped he was still jealous enough to lose himself in a rage as he had in the forest.

I pressed myself against Edward and a small moan escaped me as his lips traveled along my jaw and to my neck. I let my head fall back as he kissed my neck with as much force and passion as he had kissed me.

"Edward,' I mumbled trying to keep my wits about me.

"Mmm?" he managed to push out.

I grasped onto his shirt and pushed him out of the way. Laurent was almost in contact with us. The small ploy to push him over the edge had worked. Edward stumbled before catching himself, his eyes widened as I crouched low to the ground.

"Bella, no."

But it was too late. I met Laurent in the air between us and we came crashing down to the ground. He had the upper hand and straddled my waist. He licked his lips and grasped onto my chin with as much strength as he could. My hands clawed at him.

"Get off me, Laurent.' I hissed, but all I received in return was a laugh.

Then he was gone, Edward was rolling to the ground about four feet from me and Laurent was by my side.

I jumped to my feet, and backed away from him slowly. His eyes flickered between Edward and I looking for who would make the next move. I had the ability to confuse him.

'_Edward, we go at the same time, it'll confuse him._'

Edward nodded infinitesimally and crouched lower to the ground, I mirrored his actions perfectly. Laurent's eyes flickered between us faster now. I waited until they were on Edward and nodded. Edward and I charged towards Laurent, but somehow he countered it, he was on the edge of the meadow as we passed one another.

I took off in his direction as fast as I could, he came straight at me again, this time I didn't watch his movements, he expected that, he'd taught me that. I watched his eyes carefully, they were following my legs as I ran, he was waiting for me to pounce to the left, he could see it with the weight distribution in my legs, and I knew he would see the same thing.

I needed to hit his right side, it would be weaker with the direction I was running in but it would occupy him long enough for me to get a hit in. I pounced into the air and Laurent shifted to the right. I hit him square in the chest.

Laurent hit the ground creating a small tremble from the magnitude of his impact. I rolled as I landed and spun to pounce on him, but he was up and moving, watching me once again.

Edward approached from behind him watching closely as Laurent circled me. He crouched into position, waiting for Laurent to make his move.

I lowered myself to the ground and moved with Laurent. We were close to the trees now and I could smell the wolves as they hung along the tree line waiting to attack. I could have easily forced Laurent into the trees towards them, but I wanted to make sure the job was done, I wanted to make sure Laurent would never bother me again.

"Bella, you continue to surprise me." Laurent hissed through his clenched jaw.

I raised my eyebrows at him and side stepped to the right.

"We could have been a good team, you and I. It's not too late."

I could feel my eyes narrow with the rising of my temper.

"I was patient with you, I helped you and you betrayed me." he said stepping closer.

I ignored his goading, his was trying to anger me so I would make a mistake, but I was calmer than I had ever been.

"I forgive you of course, and after seeing that kiss, I know I could satisfy you more than _he_ ever could. I still can." He took a couple of steps towards me and a growl escaped my lips, it was echoed by Edward who was still crouched behind him, the look he was wearing was terrifying.

I leaned back on my legs so I could use them as a spring when I needed to. Laurent continued towards me slowly.

"That milky white skin against mine would be so satisfying,' he said licking his lips as he took another couple of steps forward. I prepared myself to fight but I was too late. Edward pushed himself forward and Laurent spun catching him by the throat.

Edward snarled and growled he teeth snapping inches from Laurent's face. Laurent simply laughed, but he had misjudged Edward's strength, and Edward twisted out of his grip and kicked him with such force, Laurent hit a tree at the edge of the meadow.

Four snouts appeared bearing teeth from the shadows, and Laurent ran forward. He seemed to know the wolves would go no further than the tree line. He darted at me and before I had a chance to react he had his hand around my neck and my back up against his chest, his head was dipped so his teeth were inches from the hollow of my throat.

His tongue darted from his mouth and he licked slowly up the side of my neck and across my jaw line, he was taunting Edward.

Edward jumped forward, but I stopped him, warning him with my eyes. He stopped, his teeth bared and his eyes alight with fury, Laurent had him where he wanted him, but once again had underestimated me.

With one twist of my head, my teeth were at his neck. I let them slice through the skin lightly, letting him know that I wouldn't hesitate to continue. He was frozen against me, as a small metallic scraping that sounded like nails on a chalkboard followed my teeth along his neck. I'd had enough of the games now. I wouldn't let him push us any further. I applied more pressure and jolted my head, the sound screamed loudly and my hands shot up to his hair and pulled. I spun as his hands went limp around me, I never let go of his hair, then I kicked his body with as much strength as I could, the loud metal keening once again filled the air as Laurent was pushed across the field. In my hands, I still had his head.

I nodded at Edward, I knew he would happily pull apart the rest of him, but he also understood I had to leave, it wasn't pity or guilt, it was my humanity. I ran towards the fire, I would happily burn his head, but I wasn't sure I could stomach pulling him apart. I'd had enough violence for a lifetime.

The Cullen's were gathered around the fire, Rosalie and Alice were hauling small parts of Victoria towards the large, thick, oily and purple cloud that hung low over the meadow. I dropped Laurent's head into the fire and stepped away as a large, fresh cloud of smoke rose into the air.

Rosalie dropped some pieces into the fire and stepped back, she held up something small and white and threw it at me. It was Victoria's finger. I made a face and threw it into the fire.

"Well, that's that." Emmett said sounding disappointed.

"And the poor wolves had nothing to do." sighed Rosalie, grinning.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. I was free, Renee was free. It was time to free her of the sad memories that seemed to haunt her, but for now, I would let her sleep.

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**A/N: I truly hope that didn't disappoint, I tried to be as descriptive as possible without being gory. Please let me know what you think, I am not passed doing a rewrite if necessary. ;0)**

**Thank you for the Alerts and Faves, and thank you to the REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME AND YOU REALLY DO ROCK!**

**BIG HUGZ - L-  
**


	20. Chapter 19 Procrastination

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesomely Awesome Stephenie Meyer (9 Days and 51 Minutes till Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 19 - Procrastination**

Stood by the fire, I felt like I'd had a weight lifted from my shoulders, I was finally free to get back to enjoying the world, there was no one to stand in my way any more. I couldn't believe that it was finally over.

I stood next to Alice with my arm wrapped around her waist, she'd been so quiet since finding out that James had known her and been, indirectly, the cause of her death. I had no idea what was going through her head, but I could guess her emotional state, Jasper continued throwing concerned glances at her. He could feel every emotion that was running through her. He also knew her well enough to gauge those emotions.

"Alice?" I said quietly.

Her large tawny eyes met mine as she looked at me, I could see the confusion that filled them. she was obviously upset about everything that had happened. I'd had no idea that James knew her, and I attributed that to him not paying attention any other time the Cullen's were around. He was blindsided when it came to something he wanted.

"Are you alright?" I asked planting a gentle sisterly kiss on her forehead.

"I should have asked questions." she sighed heavily, "He knew about my last days and I stood looking at him with my mouth open like a trout. I should have asked questions."

"I'm so sorry."

"Please, don't be. I have to be completely honest and say that I'm not angry, just frustrated. You see, I don't hate what I am, I see it as divine intervention. If I hadn't have become a vampire, I would never have met and fell in love with Jasper, I would never have found my true family. If what James says is correct, my family placed me in an asylum, they couldn't have loved me as unconditionally as all of you love me. So really there's nothing to be sorry about. I would have just liked to know the name of the one who changed me. He did it to save me, and it got him killed. I just wanted to know his name so he would never be forgotten, so I could attribute my happiness to him. Does that make any sense?"

"Perfect sense," I smiled and hugged her tightly. "Can't you do some research and find out where you were? Didn't he say that the man who changed you worked there?"

"Jasper suggested that, he's going to get on the internet when things quiet down and see what he can find, we have more to go on now, My name is Mary Alice, now I just need a last name."

"Do you know where the asylum was? I mean I'm guessing you woke up in the same area at least. Do you remember where you were?"

"Mississippi, I think."

"That's a start then." I said hopefully.

Alice nodded and her eyes flickered back to the fire, still full of confusion.

The thick purple cloud danced around us as the wind picked up, with our heightened sense the smell was overbearing and Alice and I backed away from the warmth of the fire.

As the last pieces were thrown onto the fire, a calm settled over us. If I hadn't know how Jasper's ability felt I would assume that he was doing it. The last of the afternoon sun was beginning to fade now, it didn't feel like this had been just one day. So much had happened in such a small space of time that it almost felt surreal.

Alice hugged me tightly before heading towards Jasper, who was still shooting concerned glances at his petite, raven haired wife. His eyes lit us as she ran into his arms. There was a love and understanding between them that was almost magical, they understood one another so deeply that they were on a completely different level than the rest of us. They were devoted to one another completely.

I started itching my arm again, the small bite was highly irritating and it was placed in the middle of my forearm. It left a crescent mark that I hoped would blend in with my skin in time. I didn't notice Edward approaching, I was so involved in satiating the itch that I missed his footfalls and breathing completely.

Edward stepped up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me from my thoughts. He planted a gentle kiss on my neck and rested his chin on my shoulder. It felt like home to be this close to him. I leaned my head against his and sighed. It felt so natural to be with him, we fit together so well, almost as though we were made for one another.

"What are you thinking?" he asked quietly.

I smiled at his words and opened my mind to him once again, I had that under control easily now, I could shut him out and let him in as often as I pleased. I left my mind as an open book now, one I knew he would gladly read. A gentle hum escaped his lips, letting me know that he liked what he saw.

As perfect as this moment was, and as much as I wanted to give my whole self to Edward, there was one last thing to take care of, and that was Renee. I had to take this memory from her before I could say goodbye, it was going to be difficult, but it was something I had to do, for her just as much as for myself. I just needed to fill in the blank spaces around the situation. Like, why was she here? How did she get here? How long had she been gone?

"How do we explain to Renee why she's here? Once I erase this mess I mean." I asked quietly, placing my hands on Edward's.

"I've been thinking about that, maybe you could make her think she came to see Charlie. I'm not suggesting you plant the idea to apologize, but maybe she'll do it on her own." Edward said thoughtfully. "I could see how hurt Charlie was when she said those things to him, it was all he thought about for the first three months, then, when he saw you, it brought it all back to him,"

I cringed, hating that I had brought such painful memories to Charlie, my only intention had been to say goodbye, to let him know that it was never his fault, that I loved him and missed him. I should have known it would have brought pain and guilt to him, we were so alike in those ways. Had I been selfish in wanting to say goodbye to him?

"It didn't hurt so much anymore though, he wished that Renee could see you too, so that she could say goodbye to you, so her pain wouldn't eat at her. He's let go of you both, he believes you're at peace and that's why you came to him that night. He wants the same for Renee, he wants her to let go of the pain of losing you and he wants her to be happy." Edward finished.

"So, what's Renee been thinking?" I asked. Comforted that Charlie was so insightful, I had an idea that Sheila had helped him with some of that, and once again I felt overwhelmingly grateful to her for picking up the pieces, and giving Charlie the love he deserved.

"She's been thinking she should go and see Charlie, didn't you hear her heart pump when you said you were going to call him? She wanted to stay awake so she could see him. When you told her she looked tired she reconsidered, she didn't want Charlie to think she'd been suffering. It's why she agreed so quickly."

"She wanted to apologize?"

"Yes, it's been eating away at her along with her ache for you."

"What a mess I made." I sighed.

"No, Bella. This was never your fault, you were living your life happily, and if the world was how it should be, you would be alive and happy. You would never have been bitten, you would never have to have suffered this, you . . ."

I put my hand over his mouth to silence him. "Don't you dare go on, Edward Cullen, because if the world was how it _should_ be, you would have died of the Spanish influenza. I can't imagine the world without you in it, I won't, the world is exactly how it should be, here, now, because you're in it. There is no other way. . ."

Edward spun me quickly in his arms and his lips met mine, stopping me from finishing my sentence. The kiss was gentle but full of the unbridled passion we felt for one another, an electric jolt ran down my body making my back arch so I was closer to him, I needed that closeness, I needed him. His hand fit perfectly in the small of my back and he pulled me closer still. I was glad I didn't need to breathe, it would have interrupted this perfect moment. Once again I was incoherent, I couldn't think anymore, I could only react to this perfect man. We were lost in one another, the honesty of the moment had created such a magnetism between us we couldn't pull away. He was all I wanted now, he had my body, heart and soul and I would never let him go.

I didn't know how long we'd been lost in one another when I heard a whistling coming from behind me it was followed by a light chuckle.

"Don't you have a room for that?" laughed Emmett.

Edward and I broke apart gasping for the breath we didn't need, but the moment had sucked us both in. In those few blissful and pure minutes there had been no one else in the world, it was just the two of us, and we had been lost in one another. I opened my eyes, and looked towards the direction the voice had come from.

Emmett and Rosalie were walking past us to the house, hand in hand. Emmett was still laughing but Rosalie slapped him on the arm and them mouthed 'sorry' to me. I grinned sheepishly and laid my head on Edward's shoulder. Watching them as they laughed amongst themselves. They were very considerate and loving towards one another when they though no one was looking, it was one of the cuter things about them as a couple, they had a raw animal magnetism towards one another but they shared moments so tender they put Carlisle and Esme to shame.

Edward's head shot up and he shook his head, his face was twisted into shock. "Jasper," he groaned, rubbing his face with his hand.

I heard Jasper laugh, and turned around to find them where I had left them. Jasper had his arms around Alice's waist. "You started it." he chuckled.

"Jasper," I said, my chagrin shining through. I hated to think what emotions i had been emitting whilst kissing Edward, I also panicked a little about whether Edward had felt them through Jasper's ability. "I'm so sorry."

Jasper laughed again before throwing Alice easily over his shoulder. "Why, I'm not!" he shot me a grin before taking off towards the house with a giggling Alice on his shoulder. Now I knew why Edward had groaned. I had never seen Jasper so lighthearted and jovial.

"Bella," Carlisle's voice was clear behind me, and for the umpteenth time since joining the family, I was glad I couldn't blush.

I turned around to face him and Esme, but both were stood smiling happily at Edward and I. It shocked me a little.

"Yes, Carlisle?"

"Your Mom will be waking soon, the sedative should be wearing off. Did you want to be with her when she wakes up?"

I nodded at his considerate nature and I was glad he didn't seem to feel the need to embarrass me as everyone else had.

"Let's go then, I just want to make sure everything's normal, I gave her quite a strong sedative."

I nodded and stepped forward, but Esme stopped me.

"One second, Bella." She said, she seemed a little concerned about something.

Esme's eyes were directed to my arm, I looked down and mentally reprimanded myself. I hadn't even realized I had been rubbing my arm again. I dropped both of my arms to my sides, hoping to mask what was really going on.

"Were you bitten?" she asked, her voice filled with shock and disgust.

I looked around the small group that was surrounding me and nodded. Esme picked up my arm gently and rolled back the sleeve revealing the small crescent mark.

"Which one did this to you?" she asked rubbing it gently with her cool hands.

"Victoria, I wasn't paying attention."

A small growl rumbled in Edward's chest and it made me smile. I liked his protective side, it was unnecessary but it made me feel loved and very safe.

"Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do to stop the irritation, but it'll go away with time." Carlisle said helpfully, smiling at me.

I nodded, and smiled at him. Esme's cool hands had done wonders on the scar, and I made a mental note to place my cool hand against the bite when it began irritating me again.

"Let's go and see Renee." Carlisle said offering me his arm, and smiling.

I looped my arm through his and let him guide me. The two of us made our way to the house leaving Esme and Edward talking quietly amongst themselves.

The room Renee was in was dark, the shutters on the large glass wall were still closed there wasn't a slight bit of light entering the room. I could still see her though, my enhanced vision gave me the ability to see her clearly. I flicked the light on and a warm soft glow filled the room, Renee never moved, she was still in her drug induced slumber, sleeping peacefully. Carlisle checked her vitals before squeezing my shoulder gently and leaving the room.

Renee looked a little more peaceful now, gone were the worried lines that had etched her face when I first arrived, there was now a serene peace. I sat on the edge of the couch and watched her sleep, I wanted to make the most of my time with her, before I had to say goodbye, but she was so peaceful, and I knew that her time with James and the others had been unsettling for her, she said herself that she had been uncomfortable with them.

It was another hour before Renee finally woke up, her eyes searched the room frantically before settling on me. I smiled as warmly as I could, hoping it would settle her. She looked relieved at the sight of me, I could only imagine what had been running through her mind.

"Bella, I thought you were a dream, sweetheart."

She propelled herself towards me and pulled me tightly into her shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her, ever conscious of the strength I was using. She was so fragile to me, I had to constantly be alert of how I handled her. Her warmth was inviting though, and I enjoyed it while I had the chance to, I wanted to remember this, because it was how I wanted her to be, warm, young and alert. It would be the image I would carry around of her for eternity.

"Did I miss Charlie?" she whispered.

I nodded gently, "He didn't want to wake you. You've been out for hours" I said.

"I was so mean to him, Bella. I wish I could take those words back, they were so hurtful."

"Mom, I'm sure he understood." I said encouragingly.

"Maybe I should go and see him before I leave."

I nodded at her, but a thought occurred to me, "Mom, where does Phil think you are?"

Renee blushed a little and smiled like a child being reprimanded. "I told him I was going to visit the kids in Phoenix. I've missed them so much."

I laughed and kissed her on the forehead.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing, I'm guessing he was out of town when you left."

Renee smiled and nodded, "You learnt how to lie badly from me."

I laughed and pulled her into another embrace.

"I've missed this, Bella."

"I have too."

"Come home with me then," she begged quietly.

I nodded and smiled, I was agreeing with her to appease her, she wouldn't remember any of this, so I figured it wouldn't hurt.

"Did you hear, Charlie has himself a girlfriend, and she's pregnant." I boasted happily, I honestly wanted her reaction before I sent her into the situation.

"He's forty years old!"

"So?" I said laughing.

"How old's the girl?"

"Thirty five, I think."

Renee thought about it for a second before nodding in acceptance.

"Well, I guess, I'll meet her when I go to see him."

I nodded and watched as she swung her legs off the side of the couch and attempted to stand up, she wobbled slightly and I steadied her by holding her arm. I stood up next to her and raised my eyebrows.

"I'm fine, Bella, just a little spaced from whatever knocked me out." She sighed and looked down at herself. "I'm such a mess, I would kill for a shower."

I laughed at the irony of her terminology, "I'll get you something to wear." I said and headed towards the closet, Renee had always been close to me in size, but she was slightly smaller that me, so I knew my new wardrobe would fit her perfectly.

I picked out a pair of Jeans and a sweater, I continued to forget that the weather would effect her, so I grabbed a nice shirt for her to wear underneath the sweater. I wanted to make sure she would be warm.

I walked out of the closet and handed her the clothes. I noticed that she was looking at me strangely as I headed towards the bathroom to show her where the towels were.

"What?" I asked stopping before opening the bathroom door. The way she was looking at me made me nervous.

"Nothing, you just seemed to have grown up so much since the last time I saw you, your muscular and curvy. Your eyes even seem to have changed color. It's just different. You look like a young woman, a beautiful young woman."

I laughed and walked towards her picking up her hand. "I'm going to have to check with Carlisle and see what he gave you, it's making you delusional!"

I pulled her towards the bathroom and pointed out the towel closet. I pushed her in and shut the door before she could say anything more. I was already on the verge of a meltdown, I didn't need anymore encouragement from my mother.

There was a gentle tap at the door and I headed towards it, hoping Edward would be on the other side. I pulled the door open quickly and smiled, I got my wish, Edward was on the other side of the door, looking, as always, like a Greek god, sent from the heavens.

"Hey, beautiful, I just wanted to make sure everything was going alright." he said quietly raising his eyebrows.

"Everything's fine, she's in the shower. And you'll be happy to know that you were right."

"What about?" he asked smirking suggestively.

"She wants to go and see Charlie."

"That'll make things a little easier." His smile faded and was replaced by concern. "Have you decided how you want to do this?"

I drew in a long breath and tried to compose myself, I felt like I was falling apart a little, but I just needed to get through saying goodbye and I would be fine.

"I think I need to wipe all of this from her mind before we leave for Charlie's, then I can say goodbye on the way, and hopefully make her think she was sleeping in the car."

Edward nodded, and stroked my face gently. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I will be, it's going to be hard to say goodbye, but once I do, it'll help me move on, because I know that they'll all be happy."

Edward's hand tangled into the hair at the nape of my neck and he pulled me to him, kissing me on the forehead.

"I'll be here, whatever you need, please just ask. I can only imagine how difficult this will be for you."

I nodded and held back the tearless sobs that were threatening to break through. We would have to do this soon, before it got too late.

"Jasper hacked into the airline and made it look as though your mom got on that flight from Phoenix."

I laughed lightly.

"What?"

"I should have known that you had already plucked her excuse from her head."

"She thought about it when we found her, she was worried because Phil wouldn't know where to find her."

I smiled at the thought, my mother, thinking that the Cullen's were going to hurt her, only had concerns about Phil, and how he would deal with the situation. I was starting to realize just how much I had inherited from Renee.

"Okay, so according to the flight details, what time will she arrive in Forks?" I asked, knowing that my time with Renee was coming to an end.

"Thirty minutes."

I nodded and he leant in stealing a quick kiss, my stomach flipped happily. He ran the back of his hand along my jaw line, the feeling left a trail of fire on my cold skin.

"I'll meet you downstairs." he whispered and he was gone. I knew Renee was finished in the bathroom, Edward's swift exit had all but screamed the fact at me.

I closed the door quietly and headed back towards the couch. The bathroom door opened seconds later, Renee was followed by billowing steam as she stepped out.

"I like the massaging shower head, I think I'll have to get one of those. It's very relaxing." she said sighing with content.

I giggled at her very normal comment, and she returned it with a grin.

"Do you want to go and see Charlie soon?" I asked, hating that the goodbye was coming at us so quickly.

"That's a good idea, if we put it off any longer it'll be too late. I'll call Phil from Charlie's so he knows where I am."

I nodded and held out my hand for her. She took it willingly and followed me to the door. It was time to say goodbye, I was saying goodbye to Renee for an eternity, I just hoped I had the strength to do it.

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**A/N: Nikki, I hope this fills in the little gap, I felt the same way about Alice's reaction, but there was so much going on, I don't think she had time to react at that moment. So the Converstion with Alice is dedicated to you ;0)**

**Thanks for the Alerts and Faves, those are great . . . and thank you to the REVIEWERS, YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME THAT I WANT TO BE OPRAH SO I CAN BUY YOU ALL CARS!! . . . YOU GUYS ROCK!!**

**BIG HUGZ - L -**


	21. Chapter 20 End of the Beginning

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer (5 Days 2 hours till Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 20 - End of the Beginning**

We were going to take Carlisle's Mercedes, the tint was dark so no one would see me, I just needed to do one more thing before we left. I needed to help Renee forget all of this.

Edward was more supportive than I could have hoped, he was tentative to my needs and even made sure Renee had an overnight bag, courtesy of Alice, to have when she got to Charlie's. Everything was in place, now we were waiting for me to finish what had to be done.

I needed to think about everything I had to remove from her memory, there had been so much that had happened while she had been with us, and I hated to think what she had been exposed to while traveling with James, Victoria and Laurent.

I had to start with that, wipe her mind completely from the moment she met up with James, to now. I hated that she would lose the playfulness and close friendship we had shared in the last couple of days, but it gave me strength knowing I would remember it.

After that, I would have to plant false memories of the last week and a half, Phil would ask questions, so I had to make sure that she would have something to tell him.

I put her in the car carefully and smiled at her, I was going to make an excuse and act as though I had forgotten something in the house, but Renee wasn't letting me go that easily, the impending face to face with Charlie had her nervous. She'd always been this way and I had picked up so many of the pieces during my life with her. This wasn't unusual, nervous, meant clingy.

"Bella, where are you going?" she asked opening the door after I pushed it closed.

"I left my sweater in the house mom, I'll be right back, I promise."

Her wide eyes showed me her apprehension, I was sure my morose mood was what gave me away. I tried to be cheerful, but it was hopeless.

"Bella, something's wrong, what is it?" she asked getting out of the car and placing her hands on my shoulders. She looked into my eyes deeply, the first time she had done that it had made me nervous, but she hadn't really comment on it except for the brief second in my room. She was looking for the lie in my eyes, she knew me better than anyone else ever had, and could tell a lie from a mile away.

"Mom," I struggled for something to tell her, "Really, there's nothing wrong, I'm just going to miss the Cullen's when we leave. I've enjoyed their friendship."

"Oh, sweetheart." Renee seemed to have bought the lie I was feeding her and she pulled me to her, embracing me tightly.

I forced a smile and stepped out of her embrace. "Okay, mom, please wait for me in the car, I'm going to grab a sweater and be right back."

Renee brushed loose strands of my hair behind my ear and looked at me sympathetically. I turned away from her choking back everything that was building up inside of me and walked away. It wasn't much of a goodbye, but I would have my chance in the car, for now, I had a job to do.

I ran at a human speed to the front door and pushed it closed gently behind me, I let myself break down, crumpling to the ground and letting the waves of grief drown me. I grabbed the back of my head with both of my hands hoping it would wipe the agony away, I gathered fistfuls of hair wishing that the pain would distract me, but the ripping pain still throbbed through my chest.

"Bella," Edward was on the ground his arms wrapped around pulling me close to him, I broke and let myself go for a moment, I knew he would never judge me over this, he seemed to love me warts and all.

I, however, seemed to be taking this harder than I had when I said goodbye to Charlie, but I realized that this was for both of them, this reaction was the finality of it all. Saying goodbye to Renee cut all of my ties to my human life and I would be only a memory for them.

I was comforted only by the fact that they could be happy, they could move on with their lives knowing that wherever I was, I was at peace.

Edward rocked me gently bringing me back to a calm and coherent state, I took deep breaths trying to dull the ache that threatened to split me into two.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered quietly.

"Bella, don't apologize, please. This is a natural reaction." he said kissing my forehead gently.

"I didn't expect it to hurt quite so much." I sighed.

"The pain will ease, Rosalie had brothers in her human life, she had a hard time saying goodbye to them, she hasn't seen them since, but when she thinks of them, she has the happy memories to take hold of."

I nodded thinking about each of the Cullen's, Alice seemed to be the only one who hadn't had to deal with the pain of loss, even Edward, who would have surely died if it hadn't have been for Carlisle, suffered, he just suffered the loss of his parents, he awoke to find they had died of the Spanish influenza.

I knew I was being selfish, I had been given something not one of the others had been given. I was able to say goodbye, face to face, revealing my true emotions and feelings for my parents, they would know for the rest of their lives that I had loved them and I would never stop thinking about them.

I sucked in another large breath and collected myself, I knew what I had to do now. It was time to stop being selfish, it was time to help Renee move on.

"Bella?" Edward asked, about to move away from me. I touched his arm with my hand and looked up into his golden eyes.

"Stay with me, please." I begged, I didn't think I could do this alone.

Edward nodded and wrapped his arms around me again.

I thought about Renee with everything I could, I could even picture her face in my head. Then I begged her to forget everything that had happened from the time she had met James until now, I rocked gently in Edward's arms as I repeated the request in my mind, over and over.

I broke down a little bit before I was able to look to Edward again, his eyes were sympathetic and wide.

"Did it work?" I asked sighing.

Edward nodded gently smoothing my hair. "She's a little bit confused, you may want to fill in the holes."

I nodded, we had come up with an intricate story to fill in the time Renee was gone.

She had left Jacksonville without her cell phone, which was highly plausible for Renee, to visit her kindergartners, she couldn't remember Phil's cell phone number without her phone, so she hadn't been able to call him. She was in Phoenix for a while, but she found herself at the house I used to share with her and she became upset, she had then decided to visit Charlie to apologize because she couldn't let the guilt eat at her. She'd put the ticket on her credit card — Jasper's a genius on the computer — and that's how she got here.

This process was a little more drawn out than that of wiping her mind, I had to pay attention to detail, I could leave nothing out. Phil would be suspicious enough as it was. I filled in small blanks as best I could with little pieces I could remember from living in Phoenix, like malls and restaurants, the small clubs she'd been a part of. I had to fill in a week and a half in Phoenix. The last thing I did was remind her to call Phil from Charlie's. Charlie had all of Renee's numbers from when I lived there. They would be in the address book by the phone in the kitchen where I'd written them when I moved to Forks.

The last thing was to persuade her to fall asleep. I needed the chance to get in the car with her and away from the Cullen house, so she wouldn't forget the flight I had just implanted into her mind.

Edward's embrace tightened around me as I shuddered, I was holding back the sobs again. I felt so weak, even with this new hardened exterior. I just needed to say goodbye now, and it was ripping me apart.

"Are you ready?" Edward whispered to me.

I nodded, unable to say a word out loud in fear of the agony drowning me again. He released his arms, that were wrapped tightly around me, and jumped up in one fluid motion. He held out his hand to me and I took it as he gracefully pulled me from the ground. He held me again before opening the door.

I took an deep, unneeded breath and stepped out into the damp evening air. I could see Renee's sleeping form in the back of the Mercedes and found the strength I had so desperately been searching for. This was it, the last time I would have any contact with my family, but I wouldn't let it drown me anymore, I couldn't, I needed the chance to say goodbye without the emotions taking control.

"So how are we going to explain the Mercedes when she wakes up?" I asked looking to Edward, and then back to the car. It wasn't exactly going to blend in with the scenery and I was sure that Charlie would recognize it.

"We were hoping you would help with that." Edward mumbled sheepishly.

I frowned at him, but it disappeared as soon as I realized what he meant. It would take some effort to make the street remember the Mercedes as a regular cab that would shuttle people from Seattle airport. And I would need to keep the specifics perfect. I nodded in agreement and moved toward the sleek black vehicle.

Edward maneuvered the car quickly to the highway and then slowed to an acceptable speed, I snickered at his sigh, he hated to drive slowly, especially a vehicle with as much power as this. I hated to think how he would have felt having to drive the truck I had formerly owned. He nodded at me in the rearview and I gently woke my mother. Her eyes flickered as my cool hands interrupted her peaceful slumber.

"Bella?" her voice cracked as she looked at my face and her eyes pooled with the tears that showed her emotions.

"Mom, hi." I whispered quietly.

"Are you really here?" she asked, her voice pleading.

I shook my head slowly. Renee nodded and bit back her tears

"Are you in pain, sweetheart?" Renee asked reaching to place her hand on my cheek.

"No, I'm well looked after, I can be happier when I know you'll be alright. You've suffered so much."

Renee bit on her lip and dropped her head in sorrow, I knew she was fighting the tears that were threatening to spill over her welling eyes.

"I miss you so very much, Bella." she sighed.

"I miss you too mom, but you can't let it take over you like this. Remember the happy memories of me, don't remember my death. ' I said looking into the rearview and catching Edward's eye, I was using his words, the word's he'd used to comfort me.

"It's so much more difficult than that, I want to remember you as the vibrant young child you always were, my middle aged child, full of wisdom, but all I can think is that I let you down, you came here because of my selfishness, because you wanted me to be happy with Phil, you tried so hard to hide your disappointment but I could see it in your eyes, that day at the airport, oh Bella, this is all my fault and I blamed your father for it all."

Renee's insightful confession surprised me, I had always thought I hid my pain and reluctance to move to Forks from her, but it seemed my lying skills still hadn't improved. She was crying now, the tears rolling gently down her cheeks as her wide eyes pleaded for my forgiveness, my forgiveness, it seemed so ridiculous that everyone blamed someone other than me. I had made the decision to go for a walk that afternoon, it had been my choice and my mistake. No one else's.

"Mom, don't you dare blame yourself for this, this was all my fault, I wandered into the forest, I should have run when I heard the animals coming towards me, but I didn't, by the time I came to my senses, it was too late. There was nothing anyone could have done for me. I would have come here a thousand times over again, I got to know my father a little better. I wouldn't trade that in for anything. I also found happiness here. So there is no reason to blame yourself."

"Poor Charlie, I was so hard on him, that's why I'm here, to apologize."

"He'll appreciate it, and don't be afraid, I don't think he's upset anymore. I said goodbye to him too."

"How do I apologize for that? I placed all the blame on him, I told him he was a bad father and that I had entrusted your safety to him and he let us both down. How do I apologize for that?"

I cringed at her words, she'd been unnecessarily cruel to Charlie, and hearing her words, they stung a little to hear, I had caused them both such pain with my stupidity.

"People say things in their grief, he knows that as well as anyone else. You have to trust him, he wants you to be happy."

"I miss you so much, my beautiful little girl." Renee wept.

I looked to Edward for strength, he smiled at me, gently urging me to go on.

"Mom, I can't stay long and you're almost at Charlie's house, but I want you to know I'm safe here and I am happy now, at peace, but I will never stop loving you, you will be in my heart for eternity, and someday, maybe we'll be together again, but I need you to live your life. Please, live and be happy and know that I will always be with you."

"Please, don't go, Bella."

"I have to, you'll be fine." I said smiling at her. I could feel the car slowing, we were getting to the end of Charlie's street and I had to get out and wait for Edward to drop Renee at the front door.

I leaned forward and kissed Renee on the forehead, she closed her eyes and smiled, trying to hold onto the moment for as long as possible.

I wished her to sleep again as the car came to a stop. The light was conveniently out and the area was cast in shadows. Renee's head slumped gently to her chest and her breathing became rhythmic again. I looked in the mirror.

"Can you yellow cab me?" mused Edward, his eyes were full of sympathy.

I nodded and thought about each of the houses and the occupants and Renee, then I thought about the Mercedes being a cab for the duration of it's time on the street, it was easier that way. If anyone saw Dr. Cullen driving a cab to work it could get a little unusual around the town of Forks.

I nodded and climbed out of the car noiselessly and pushed the door closed gently. Edward gave me a concerned glance before driving towards the house, I nodded and backed into the shadows.

Edward pulled gently to the curb and I heard him gently speak to Renee. She woke up startled and gazed at Edward. She thanked him and gave him the money we'd planted in her purse. Then she got out and looked up at the small house, she stepped from the car and pulled her bag with her.

Edward pulled away from the curb and towards the other end of the street, he would be circling to come and get me. I watched as Renee took a deep breath and walked towards the house with her bag in her hand.

The door of the house opened slowly and Charlie stepped out into the light that washed the porch.

"Renee?" Charlie sounded surprised to see her.

"Charlie, I came to say . . . I'm so sorry." Renee's voice broke and her head fell into her hands as she wept again.

Charlie dashed from the house and pulled her into an embrace.

"No need to apologize, it was hard for us all. Why don't you come inside." he said gently.

Renee nodded and let Charlie guide her into the house, his arm still wrapped around her lightly. The door clicked and I turned to see Edward parked next to me on the curb. his eyes were still full of concern as he watched me, but I was strangely at ease, it didn't hurt any less, but knowing that my parents were alright and they would be safe made it bearable.

Edward stepped out of the Mercedes and pulled me into his embrace. "They'll be fine." he whispered.

I nodded into his chest and heaved a large sigh. It had been harder than I could have ever anticipated, but I knew that they would survive with a chance at happiness. I had said goodbye the only way I knew how. He was right, they would be fine, and I had guaranteed that, I would never tie myself to them as a vampire, and if anything like this were to come up again, as far as anyone else was concerned, they didn't exist. I would protect them as much as I could.

Now, I had to start my new life, the one I had chosen for myself. I had four wonderful brothers and sisters and two adoptive parents I couldn't possibly respect more. I also had a fiancé that I loved with every ounce of myself, he was my world now, my reason for existing.

I sighed and wrapped my arm around his waist. "I think I'm ready to go home."

"You don't want to stay?" he asked, his tone light but inquisitive.

"No, I've said my goodbyes, now I have to let them live their lives" I turned to face him and stood on my toes, he understood and bent to meet me with a kiss. "I also need to start mine." I whispered.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, i won't bore you with the details . . . **

**Thank you so much for the Alerts and Faves, and thank you to . . . THE REVIEWERS, YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST AND I LOVE HEARING WHAT YOU GOTTA SAY . . . YOU GUYS ROCK!!**

**BIG HUGZ L**


	22. Chapter 21 Credence

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesomely Awesome Stephenie Meyer (4Days and 4Hours till Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 21 - Credence**

The ride back home was quiet. Home, it's the way I thought about it now, and it wasn't necessarily the big white house I was referring to, it was wherever the Cullens were, they were my family now and I loved them as much as I could love my real family. It was the way I looked at them now, I had since I'd arrived really. They had taken me under their wings regardless of my pass discretion's with meals, they'd given me a new way to live, and befriended me. I also discovered my true love, my heart and soul.

Edward was sat next to me knowing I was in pain, he was concerned about me in every way. There was no limit to how much I loved this man and I was finally able to enjoy my connection with him. Esme had told me vampires don't love in the same capacity as humans, they find their true mates and dedicate themselves to that other half. I couldn't be more happy that Edward Cullen was that piece of my puzzle.

Edward threw concerned glances in my direction throughout the short drive, I knew I had to break the silence when he sighed lightly. My mind was currently locked to him and he was concerned.

"I'm fine, Edward." I whispered. "It was difficult, but they'll be alright."

"I'm not worried about them, Bella. I'm worried about you."

"Don't be, everything will be fine now."

Edward watched me quietly I knew he had his doubts, he'd seen me break down before I had said goodbye to Renee, I couldn't blame him for the surreptitious looks he was giving me from the corner of his eye, I bit back my urge to placate him and I looked out the window. I needed a little more time, but I would be able to move on now. Renee and Charlie would be alright without me, they had their goodbyes and they knew I was happy, it would make it easier to move on.

I replayed the conversations I'd had with both of my parents in my head. Charlie had been so happy to see me, his tears had been hard to deal with, but Edward had seen the peace that had enveloped his mind when we had sat outside the house after the conversation. Renee's tears had been just as hard and her pleads for me to stay had crushed me, but I knew that Charlie would help her as much as he could, and she would go back to Jacksonville a little happier, knowing I was able to say goodbye.

I hated that both of my parents had blamed themselves, their guilt had eaten at me for a while, but I hoped that they had taken my words seriously and realized that I was the person I blamed. It had been no one's fault but my own.

I came to a resolution as we turned from the highway onto the private road, I couldn't mope around because of this, I had to leave Renee and Charlie at Charlie's house where I'd said goodbye to both of them, I had to start living my life, my eternity. Having this gift didn't make the situation easier, it made the temptation to sneak back easier. I knew I was stronger than that though, and I couldn't keep throwing my parents life into turmoil because of my selfish needs. If I was going to say goodbye I had to leave them behind now, and I was ready for that.

When we approached the house I felt the calm wash over me, it was strange because I knew that it wasn't Jasper's helping hand, it was my natural reaction, I was finally home and I could live my life the way I so desperately wanted to, with Edward.

Edward pulled the Mercedes into the garage and turned off the engine, but neither of us made a move to get out of the car. We sat in companionable silence staring at the light walls ahead of us. Edward shifted in his seat until he was facing me. His topaz eyes watched me intently, looking for some signal that would show my desperation. To my own surprise, it wasn't there, the desperation had never come, the drowning agony had dissipated, all I felt was relief, it was finally all over, and I was still alive, there were no injuries, my parents were safe, and I had the love of my existence sitting next to me. Relief was the only emotion running through me.

"Bella, what are you thinking?" I could hear the frustration dancing around his velvet voice. He hated not having access to my mind when I was so silent.

I let the small smile spread across my lips as I turned to face him, he looked surprised at the change in my demeanor.

"How relieved I am, knowing everything is how it should be." I reached out and stroked his beautiful face gently. "How happy I am that you're in my life."

Edward smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his eyes were full of intensity as he gazed into my own.

"I love you, Bella. You can't imagine how happy I am to have you in my life. I am so conflicted sometimes though. I hate that this happened to you, but selfishly, I can't imagine my life without you in it."

I laughed lightly and ran my hand through his beautifully messy hair. "I wish you'd stop feeling selfish. You never did any of this, you left to keep me safe. I was the idiot that put myself into that position. I hate that my parents had to go through that, and I hated my time with James and the others, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat if it led me to you."

Before I had time to blink, Edward's lips were crashing against mine, the electricity that seemed to run between the two of us was unfathomable, my entire body felt alive at his touch and the surge of love than ran through me amplified my reaction, our lips moved together perfectly and my mind slowly fell away as I let myself go. We moved closer to one another, my body reacted without any thought from me, we were lost in the moment.

A large crack filled the small space breaking us apart quickly. My breath was shaky as I fell back into my seat. The two of us looked around but we were still alone. Edward's chuckle brought my eyes back to him.

"What?" I asked, my voice was ragged.

Edward looked down between us and my eyes followed his. I groaned audibly. Somehow, we'd managed to crack the console that laid between the two seats. My hand flew to my mouth in my embarrassment. How were we going to explain _that_?

"It's alright," chuckled Edward, "It's easy enough to fix."

"Edward, that's not the point, how do we explain it?" I asked horrified.

Edward laughed at me gently. "Don't worry about it."

"But . . ."

Edward placed a finger on my lips. "Bella, do you think it's the first time something like this has happened. You have met Rosalie and Emmett, right?"

I laughed at this, but rolled my eyes.

"Come on," he laughed again, "Everyone's inside waiting for us."

I widened my eyes and looked down at the console again, I couldn't just leave it like that, I didn't care how many times it had happened before.

"It'll be fine, Bella." Edward insisted, a small smile danced on his lips, "We'll blame it on my driving,"

I shook my head and laughed, this was going to be interesting. In fact, I had a feeling the rest of my existence would be interesting.

Edward jumped out of the car and was at my door holding it open for me as I turned around. I would have to swallow my pride for now and trust that my new siblings wouldn't find it necessary to embarrass me about this. Like Emmett could resist, I knew better than that.

We walked into the house hand in hand, the family was in the living room talking happily amongst themselves. Every eye moved towards us as we entered. Emmett was smirking and Rosalie raised an eyebrow. Edward shook his head at her and she grinned, I knew this wasn't going to be pretty.

"Edward, I'll have you know that we have never broken anything in the Mercedes, and the Jeep doesn't count considering it's Emmett's." she said trying to keep a straight face.

I immediately buried my head into Edward's arm, if I could have died of embarrassment, I certainly would have at that moment. Edward rubbed my arm gently and chuckled.

"Come on Rosalie, I have lived with the two of you for how long now?" Edward laughed, "You can't play coy with me, I know you both too well."

Emmett's booming laugh filled the room.

I looked up to see each of the Cullens smiling happily at me. Edward wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to the overstuffed chair. He sat gently and pulled me into his lap. It seemed that was the most we were going to get ribbed for our little mishap, I was surprised, I expected Emmett to be throwing out the one liners.

"How did it go, Bella?" asked Esme gently.

"Well, it was just harder than I thought it would be." I sighed. Now I realized why we'd gotten off lucky.

Esme smiled at me sympathetically. She had been so concerned for me since this afternoon, she hated that I had to go through so much pain, I had to get her alone again and thank her for everything she had done for me. she'd already been more help than I could have imagined.

"Bella, I was hoping I could borrow you for a second." Alice chimed in merrily. She was wriggling nervously in her seat. Jasper was shaking his head, but the adoration on his face was easily visible.

Edward groaned beneath me and I giggled, I had an idea of what she wanted now, but I was happy to oblige, I knew how excited she was about the wedding and I wasn't going to take that away from her. I nodded in agreement, kissing Edward lightly on his cheek before standing up.

I never got the chance to get up on my own, Alice had my hand and was tugging me across the room towards the stairs. I knew we were heading towards her cavernous bedroom, she was moving so quickly it didn't take us long to get there either.

She pushed me gently into the couch that was positioned at the end of their spectacularly large bed and dashed off towards her closet. She reappeared with an armful of books and magazines and a large binder overflowing with cutouts and notes. I couldn't believe she'd already put so much work into this.

"Alice, when did you find the time?" I asked, as she dumped the pile between us on the couch.

Alice simply raised her eyebrows at me and pulled the binder onto her lap. She was a psychic vampire, of course she was prepared, she'd probably started the moment the thought had crossed Edward's mind. I smiled, mostly to myself, I had to give it to her, she was good. I guess I would have said yes eventually, and she'd known that, I couldn't resist her pout, anymore than anyone else in the family could. To be honest I was glad of the distraction, keeping my mind occupied wasn't a bad thing.

"Okay, I need you to make a decision," Alice said and handed me a large stack of pages torn from magazines. "I picked out the ones that screamed Bella to me, I just need you to narrow down the stack for me, I think I got a little carried away." she grinned.

Carried away wasn't the word for it, I had a stack of a least one hundred pages in my hands. I nodded and went through each of the pages. All of them had little notes on them pointing out things we could do differently to make it perfect, diagrams of what additions she would make, her handwriting was immaculate and tiny, I smiled as I went through the pages. I had to admit, she knew my taste, and each little sketch or note made the dresses she'd picked out even more perfect. The girl had a talent.

By the time I was finished I was down to a stack of twenty, it wasn't that I didn't like the others, the just seemed a little to elaborate for the smallish ceremony I wanted.

I handed the pile to a smiling Alice. She went through the stack, although I imagined she'd seen them as I made my decisions. She pulled out one page and tucked it back into the binder. Yes, it seemed she'd seen every decision I had made.

"Perfect, it was my favorite too." she grinned.

"Okay, the next order of business is location." she said pulling out another stack of magazine pages. "Seeing as we're moving soon, I thought I would give you an option. This also depends on when you want to get married."

I smiled at her, she already knew what I had decided but she was trying to be diplomatic. This time I raised my eyebrows at her. She knew I wanted to marry Edward as soon as it was possible, but I knew I needed to give her some time.

"When exactly are we looking at moving?" I asked.

"Well, we have the house all ready to move into," her eyes lit up, I knew she was hiding something.

"Alice?"

Alice grinned and shook her head at me. "You'll see."

I rolled my eyes again.

"Anyway, it should be within the next two weeks. Esme has enrolled us in the high school there. It makes it so much easier now that we know you can control your thirst. The new semester starts two weeks from Monday, so we need to be there if we want to start fresh, You, Edward and myself will be sophomores and Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper will be juniors. It seems to work out a little better when we work it that way. I hope you don't mind repeating some things."

"I think it'll be a good catch up, it'll be nice to graduate."

Alice laughed a silvery laugh and tapped on the pages I was holding, I knew what she wanted.

"So how long will it take you to pull these things together?" I asked.

"Bella, you know better than to challenge me like that." she laughed lightly.

I grinned at her, "I trust you're judgment on this Alice."

Alice smiled and tugged the paper from my hands. She slapped the binder closed and winked at me. "Good to know, and I promise, I won't let you down. everything will be perfect"

I laughed at her gently. "Thank you, Alice."

She shrugged her dainty shoulders, "That's what sisters do, Bella."

I leaned over the papers and magazines to give her a hug, she had made me feel like I had belonged here from the start, I would always be thankful to her for that. She truly was my sister.

I sat watching Alice work, she had danced towards the computer that was sat on an inconspicuous desk in the corner. I guessed it was Jasper's because of the history books and complete neatness of it, it seemed it was the only thing in the room that really screamed Jasper. Unfortunately, it was now being commandeered by Alice and the mountain of papers and fabric she had laid out. I curled up on the couch and read one of the many magazines she had left on the couch and listened to her fingers type quickly on the keyboard, it was amazing the computer could even keep up, with the pure speed she exuded.

There was a gentle tap at the door.

"Come in Rosalie."

The door opened slightly and Rosalie breezed in and fell gracefully on the couch next to me.

"What are you two doing up here, it's been so quiet."

"Planning," I laughed, throwing down the magazine. "I've also been marveling at the speed Alice types."

Alice laughed and swung around in the chair to look at us, "I'm not half as fast as Jasper is, he can get this thing moving."

"While I have you both here," I said mumbling, it was an instantaneous decision, but their anxious eyes were making me nervous "I was wondering, would you be my maids of honor? I know it's traditional to only have one, but I love you both and I want you to be a part of this."

Rosalie and Alice both squealed and pounced on me, I'd never seen this side of Rosalie, and I hadn't expected to surprise Alice.

"Yes," they giggled in unison.

I beamed at them both. "Do you think Carlisle would mind giving me away? Or is he best man?" I asked.

"He's best man, but Jasper would love to give you away if you're up for it." laughed Alice.

"Doesn't leave much of an audience does it?" I laughed realizing that the wedding party made up the guests.

"We'll figure something out." she sang airily.

I raised my eyebrows at her.

The rest of the night was spent picking out dresses for Rosalie, Alice and Esme We'd decided she would be Matron of honor. I felt guilty leaving out Emmett, but Alice said she had the perfect job for him. I trusted her so I let it go.

It was five in the morning when Edward finally came looking for me. He sauntered into Alice's room with Jasper and raised his eyebrow at Alice.

"Alice, do you really think . . ." Alice stopped him by putting up her hand.

"Bella trusts me, I think you should too, and when it comes to the wedding, I want you to stay out of my head." Alice's eyes lit up and she turned to me.

"No, Alice!" Edward said, he sounded surprised more than anything else.

"Bella," Alice sang merrily.

"Alice!"

Alice stuck her tongue out at him, and then turned to face me. I looked between them both. Edward pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, but Alice steamed on.

"Bella, can you do me a huge favor?"

"It depends on what that favor is, Alice." I laughed.

"Block Edward from seeing anything about the wedding in my mind,"

I froze on the spot, I could do it easily and it would keep the wedding, and more importantly the dress a surprise from Edward, but I felt like I was betraying him a little if I did. I looked between the two of them, Edward shook his head a miniscule amount, but Alice had her eyes on me so she didn't see it.

"Please, it would be nice to surprise the two of you, and he shows absolutely no restraint when it comes to looking at things in my mind that relate to you. I really would like to stick to tradition, it is a special occasion for you both, please." Alice begged, once again releasing the full force of her pout on me.

I looked to Edward who was peeking at me from under his hand. "And what's your argument, Edward?" I asked laughing.

Edward sighed loudly and dropped his hand from his nose. He looked at me and released the burning intensity of his eyes on me.

"I would like to keep our dear sister here under control, she has a tendency to go overboard with things like this, if you could see what I could, you would understand."

I laughed nervously. Edward was trying to be diplomatic and helpful, and Alice was trying to make the day special. I looked to Rosalie, but the grin she was wearing told me she sided completely with Alice. I think the entire family would like to see Edward surprised.

"How about a compromise?" I asked.

Edward perked up a little and moved to sit next to me, Alice's eyes widen and she grinned.

"Okay, that will work, but I decide what he can and can't see." Alice sang, seeing my decision.

I looked to Edward, I knew he'd seen it in Alice's mind. He nodded at me, and I knew it was because if Alice wanted to keep it a surprise from me, I couldn't block it from him.

Unfortunately, Edward didn't factor in Alice's schematics, she was smarter than that, but never let him see it. She shooed him out of the room and sat in front of me grinning broadly.

"Okay, Bella, I want you to block out your dress, the destination, the honeymoon and our gift, our gift, meaning the family's gift, but you may need to block everyone's mind from him on that." she added thoughtfully.

My mouth fell open and I gasped, she'd successfully blocked the entire thing from him and she knew it.

Jasper, who was still in the room laughed and Alice shot him a look.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh yes I would," laughed Jasper, "It was your idea, after all."

"Jasper Whitlock Hale, I can't believe you!" hissed Alice.

"What did I miss?" I asked watching the exchange wide eyed.

Jasper sat next to me on the couch and laughed. Edward came back into the room a large smirk spread across his perfect face, whatever Jasper had thought about, he'd heard.

"Bella, I would like you to block Alice from seeing her Christmas presents this year. Maybe you could arrange for her to not see those visions."

Christmas wasn't for another nine months but I knew how hard this family worked to buy Alice something as a surprise, and if they wanted something special ordered, it would take time. I nodded happily knowing that my first gift to Alice, as part of the family, would be a surprise.

"I think I could manage that." I giggled happily.

Edward kissed the top of my head happily and laughed. I looked up at him thoughtfully. "You really shouldn't laugh, Edward, I plan on doing the same to you."

Jasper punched the air in triumph and Rosalie giggled on the other side of the couch. "Oh this should be fun," Rosalie said getting up.

Edward and Alice crossed their arms and looked at me with pleading, yet dangerous eyes. I shrank into the couch, Rosalie glared at the two of them.

"Stop that, you're scaring her." she said in mock horror and winked at me.

Alice and Edward both looked towards Rosalie and I took my chance. Giggling I propelled myself from the couch and towards the door. I took off down the stairs at top speed and I almost ran straight into Emmett. I skidded to a stop and grinned at him. "You never saw me."

I took off laughing again and ran out the front door. I leapt from the porch, not bothering to take the stairs and took off into the field. I loved the speed and balance I now possessed, it afforded me playfulness like this. I didn't get far into the field when I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and pick me up from the ground. I shrieked loudly as the two of us came to a stop.

"Edward, put me down." I was laughing hysterically and it came out distorted.

"Not until you take it back," he whispered seductively in my ear.

"Never," I breathed, playfully fighting his embrace.

"I beg to differ," he chuckled and started kissing my neck.

I sucking in a large breath at his dirty tactics, but I wasn't able to vocalize my distaste, because a groan came from behind us. It was Jasper and Alice was by his side, holding back the giggles.

"We leave you alone for a second." she said trying to keep a straight face in mock disgust.

Edward rolled his eyes and placed me on my feet in front of him, my back was flush against his chest.

"Bella, please don't do this." Alice begged sweetly.

"Do what?" Emmett asked, jogging towards us.

"Thanks for the help, Emmett." I laughed.

"What can I say, I thought it would be funny to see you caught."

I let my mouth fall open, feigning shock and disappointment.

"He tried, love." whispered Edward under his breath.

I grinned at Emmett again. "I knew my brother would help me out."

Emmett chuckled and looked around us, "So what exactly has Bella running for her life, sanity, or was it both?"

"She's going to block them from knowing their Christmas presents, they're not excited about the prospect." chuckled Jasper.

Emmett's grin grew wide across his face. "Oh, now this will be fun. I should have put more effort into hiding you, Bella."

"It's okay, Emmett, they won't change my mind." I sang.

"We'll see about that!" Edward laughed.

* * *

**A/N: On a happier note . . . Thought I should lighten the mood a little. Hope you had a good Monday, we're on the home stretch to the release of Breaking Dawn. Let me know what you thought of the happy day.**

**Thank you for the Alerts and Faves, and thank you to the REVIEWERS, OF COURSE, YOU GUYS MAKE IT A PLEASURE TO WRITE, OR SHOULD I SAY EVEN MORE OF A PLEASURE TO WRITE . . . THANK YOU . . . SINCERELY . . . YOU ROCK!!**

**BIG HUGZ - L-**


	23. Epilogue Unexpected Gift

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer. (3 days and 12 hours till Breaking Dawn)**_

* * *

**Epilogue - Unexpected Gift.**

After the day I said goodbye to Renee, things began moving quickly, we were preparing to move so Esme would bustle around the house making lists of everything that was coming and everything that was staying.

Each individual couple had to pack up their own rooms before they left. I still had a room of my own, so I found myself in there boxing up books and some of the clothes Alice was still supplying me with. Other than that there really wasn't much more to do so I asked Edward whether he needed help.

This was the first time I had been in his room and I was surprised by the light the streamed in through the large window wall and danced across each of his possessions, there was a black leather couch and a very technical looking stereo system. What caught my attention though, was the wall of CD's, a wall was exactly what is was too. It was a phenomenal sight to see. I browsed through the titles as I gently stacked them in boxes.

"You have an eclectic taste in music, Edward." I laughed as I placed a stack of CD's into the box, they ranged from Bach to Linkin Park.

He grinned at me as he placed another stack of CD's into the box. "I listen to what reflects my mood."

"So, what would reflect your mood today?" I asked smiling.

"Hmm," he pondered thoughtfully and stood up to browse what was left on the wall we were making quick work of.

"Close your eyes." his grin was mischievous.

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Please!" his eyes continued on with the intensity, so I agreed and closed my eyes and waited. I heard the tray of the CD player slide smoothly from the machine as he placed a disc lightly inside.

The music started playing louder than I expected, but that wasn't what caught me off guard. I hit the floor in fits of giggles watching Edward trying to keep a straight face. It was love shack by the B-52's, not exactly a musical masterpiece, but it was a classic.

Alice burst into the room, and looked at the two of us. "Why on earth are you torturing Bella, Edward?" she laughed.

This sent me into another round of uncontrollable giggles. Especially when Alice started singing along and dancing the worst way she possibly could, mocking the song.

That was it, we spent the rest of the afternoon playing classic and embarrassing musical choices from the collection, of course I won the worst taste in nineties music when I was playing new kids on the block, but Edward was tortured for owning it in the first place. Eventually the entire family was inside the large room shouting requests.

Alice, Rosalie and I did a fabulous rendition of Cyndi Lauper's girls just wanna have fun, which had the boys laughing merrily on the floor. Edward's choice in music was certainly diverse, I couldn't believe the ranges of them.

Through discussion I discovered another collection, Emmett collected movies and video games, but Rosalie made him stash them somewhere they couldn't be seen. He had every gaming systems starting with Atari.

They were all in the basement, and he dragged me downstairs to admire his collection, and indeed, it was a large collection. The basement looked like a library with rows of shelves lining the room, there was a comfortable seating area with more wires than I had ever seen before leading to a huge television that sat out far enough someone could get behind it and change out the wires. He challenged me to a game of pong, which of course he won.

After we were finished I offered to help him pack, he was surprised by my offer, it seemed no one was willing to help, and I soon realized why, we had to break down the shelving systems that held them and wrap each case for the movies, games and systems in bubble wrap individually. It was an effort to say the least. I was glad for my new speed, it got things done a lot faster.

I had already put a block on Edward for the wedding and the two of them for Christmas, Carlisle and Esme seemed to have put an end to any dispute and taken in the idea openly, in fact, they seemed almost excited about it. Preparations were already under way.

We were moving to Maine, a small town about fifty miles from Newcastle. The Cullens had bought a large property out there, but that was all we knew, we meaning Edward and I. Some things about our new home had been blocked from Edward at the request of Carlisle and Esme. It was unusual for them to make such a request so I agreed, knowing that they must have a reason.

Alice was moving along nicely with the wedding plans and had decided on the location, she had kept it as a secret from us, and I was intrigued, Edward was annoyed, he continued to sift through his siblings minds looking for some sort of clue, but Alice had thought of everything and he was denied any sort of access pertaining to the wedding.

We left Forks at the end of the week, Carlisle had hired a large truck for us to load and Jasper and Alice would be driving it across the country, I couldn't imagine Alice behind the wheel of the monstrous vehicle, but her small stature jumped up behind the wheel and grinned at me. Strange wasn't the word to describe the picture, I think bizarre was more fitting.

Edward and I drove past Charlie's one last time on the way out. It was the early hours of the morning and I wanted to keep the mental picture in my memory.

We had a large caravan following the truck through the Northernmost states, Edward would get frustrated because the truck would only move so fast, so he was limited to his speed. He continually asked that we were allowed to go ahead and meet the family there, but his request was denied, it seemed no one wanted the surprise revealed.

We communicated through CB radios, which we were cautious about, there was always a chance that there would be other traffic on the channel we had selected. We each had code names, or handles as Emmett insisted on calling them. Carlisle was Doc Holliday, Esme was Bahama Mama, Alice was Tinkerbell, Jasper was Alamo Joe, Rosalie was poison Ivy, Emmett was Kodiak, Edward was Mufasa, and I was Wendy Lady. It seemed the Cullen's enjoyed Disney movies, and it made for an interesting trip.

We arrived in Maine on a dull overcast day, which suited us fine, we could travel under the cover of the clouds and not worry about the sunlight catching out glittering skin. We followed the truck down a large tree lined driveway.

"Come in Mufasa." Carlisle's voice said over the radio. Edward picked up the mic.

"This is Mufasa, Go ahead Doc Holliday."

"I need you to hang back, we have a surprise at our 20."

"Affirmative Doc."

Edward looked at me with his brows raised. He pulled over to the side of the narrow road and let each of the other Cullen vehicles pass.

"Wait for my signal Mufasa."

"Affirmative Doc."

We sat on the side of the road and waited for about thirty minutes, we figured we were halfway up the driveway at this point, I doubted they could have found somewhere more secluded than this, we were practically in the middle of nowhere.

"What do you think they're doing up there?" I asked.

"Unblock me and I'll tell you." Edward chuckled lightly.

"Nice try, _Mufasa_." I giggled.

"Ok Mufasa, you have clearance to proceed." Rosalie's voice sang across the airwaves.

"Thank you poison Ivy, Mufasa rolling."

Edward put the Volvo in gear and took off up the drive at an alarming rate of speed. I trusted his driving impeccably, but the tree lined drive gave us limited visibility. Edward slowed at a tight corner, but he slid us around it gently, there, about a mile up the road was a grand house. It was beautiful and very stylistic, it suited the Cullen's taste well. Edward slowed the Volvo until we were rolling gently towards it.

"Wow," I verbalized.

"Hmm." Edward said nodding, "That would definitely sum it up."

"Are all of your houses like this?" I asked looking at the large sprawling manor.

"No, this is bigger than usual."

We stopped where Carlisle and Esme were stood, they climbed in the back of the Volvo silently and pulled the door closed.

"Don't stop, Edward, make a right at the end of the drive." Carlisle instructed. I could hear the smile in his voice.

Edward did as he was instructed and pulled to the right.

There, in front of us was a quaint cottage with an attached double garage, the front door had a large bow attached and outside of the garage was the Maserati.

I gasped, loudly. Edward looked back towards Carlisle and Esme.

"It's our wedding present to you both, it took us some time to find a house with a large enough guest house, but with Esme and Alice working together, we finally found it. What do you think?" Carlisle asked, full of pride.

I was stunned, speechless, once again the Cullen's had gone above and beyond everything to make us happy. Edward slammed on the brakes. Each of his siblings were now stood around the door to the house.

We both stepped out of the car and looked at one another. Esme moved up beside me. I threw my arms around her, still unable to find the words necessary to thank them. Edward chuckled and embraced Carlisle.

"Now I understand the blocking me."

"Yes, well that made it all the more fun." Carlisle said winking at me.

"I . . . it's beautiful, thank you." I whispered, my voice was quiet, I was still stunned.

"Well, we couldn't have the newly weds feeling uncomfortable in their first couple of years, Alice and Jasper had a whole wing to themselves after they joined us and Rosalie and Emmett had their own house after they were married so we thought this would be nice, your own house, but close enough to us so you can still be with us whenever you want to be."

We walked slowly towards the house, it had the most beautiful stone exterior with beautiful windows set into it, Carlisle and Edward walked closer to us and Edward snaked his arm around my waist. Each of our siblings had wide happy smiles on their faces.

I beamed at them with the best smile I could conjure in my shocked state. My new life was finally starting.

* * *

**A/N: I was hoping to draw this out until Friday, but I felt like this was the perfect ending, their happily ever after. It's short, I know, but everyone has been doing wedding scenes and I didn't want it be just another one of those. This story was my baby because it was the first Twilight fan fiction that I had no real guideline on. When writing the Alice perspective, I always had the Twilight books to refer to. Which reminds me, I will be doing Breaking Dawn from Alice's perspective. For now, I will be taking a couple of weeks off, I have written a chapter every night (With one or two exceptions) since April 10. I enjoy updating nightly, it keeps it fresh.**

**Okay so now I have talked your ear off and the A/N is longer than the chapter, I would like to say thank you, to each and everyone one of you that read this story. And to the REVIEWERS . . . LIKE I COULD FORGET YOU GUYS . . . YOU REALLY ENCOURAGED ME WITH YOUR KIND WORDS AND I THANK YOU FOR BEING SO FRIGGIN' AWESOME . . . YOU GUYS ROCK!!**

**BIG HUGZ - L -**


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